


Quill and Ink

by Qster13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 17:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 59,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qster13/pseuds/Qster13
Summary: Quill and Ink, two materials meant to be used together, they complement one another. Like objects two people will often complement one another, allowing their best features to show through and to allow one another to be complete. Sometimes two people who might seem completely different can be far more alike than we, or even they realize, if only we take the time to read their story.This story chronicles the lives of two of our favorite Hogwarts professors from the time they start at the school through the course of the books.  Mostly canon compliant, slightly AU, Minerva is placed at the same age as the Marauders.





	1. The Potions Master Arrives

A tall thin man dressed completely in black stood outside the imposing doors of what would soon be his new home. He was a handsome man of twenty-one, but his difficult life had aged him beyond his years. The horrors he had seen and dealt with in the past few years alone would surpass those of even the most experienced auror. The stories he could tell would undoubtedly cause someone of weak constitution to faint dead away. Yet here he stood nervous about what would await him within the vast hallways of the castle before him.

Although the last time he had been here was only a few years ago, it seemed as if it had been decades. How long ago it now seemed since he was here as a student, how times had changed since then, and not for the better. Looking back he wished he could do it all over again, and reverse the mistakes he had made. If only he had never insulted Lily Potter, if only that vile word had never escaped his lips. He had cursed himself many times over for even thinking about it, let alone saying it out loud, but what was done was done, and he could never reverse the damage he had caused. The only thing he could do was hope that the job he was about to undertake would be worth it, and that he might save her from a terrible fate.

As he approached the doors to the school he gulped nervously hoping beyond hope that this new position would not be as terrible as he feared it would be. Upon reaching the doors he reached out to open one, but before he could do so it was opened from the inside by the headmaster himself, Albus Dumbledore.

“Ah, Severus I see you have arrived safely.” Said Albus wearily reaching out to shake Severus’ hand “I trust the journey here was a pleasant one.” Though Albus smiled when he said this, the normal twinkle in his eyes was not present. 

As calm and collected as Albus Dumbledore was Severus could tell that he still did not trust him completely, and probably would not for a long while, if at all. Severus could not blame him for this, had he been in the same position as Albus he probably would have acted in the same manner. He was a now former death eater, he would never be able to escape the stigma that came with that title, people would not care that he was no longer one of them, that he had renounced the evil of Voldemort, they would only care that he was once one of his followers. Although he was a different man than he was when he had joined them he would never be able to free himself of that horrible title, or the indelible mark it left on his arm.

“The trip went well headmaster, the train ride revived many old memories of my school days.” Severus replied, hoping he had provided an adequate response.

“Very good.” Said the headmaster, still appraising Severus. “Now if you will follow me to my office we can finalize our business, and I can give you the information you will require for your new position.”

Severus quickly followed the headmaster as he hurried down hallways, up staircases, and through secret passageways. At last they arrived at the gargoyle Severus knew guarded the headmaster’s office.

“Peppermint humbug” Albus said, immediately the gargoyle jumped aside and the staircase to his office was revealed. “Remember that password Severus, I assure you it will be useful later on.”

Albus led Severus into his large office, which now played host to even more delicate instruments and knickknacks than the last time Severus had been here. Severus was always awed every time he entered the headmaster’s office, he enjoyed all of the different knickknacks that adorned the many shelves and tables in here and he felt that the décor truly was a reflection on the man this office belonged to. Alas he was not here to admire Dumbledore’s collection of unique instruments and he had to get to the task at hand.

Albus led Severus to his desk and took a seat behind it, he gestured to one of the comfortable chairs facing the desk for Severus to take a seat. “Severus, we have a lot of business to discuss tonight, very serious business at that. I hope you will understand how much work all of this will be for you.” Albus said seriously “Being a teacher and a double spy will not be an easy undertaking, but I have confidence that you will succeed.” 

Severus took this as the warning he knew it was, he must succeed and do everything in his power to make certain that things went well. He would not, could not fail, if he did he knew there would be grave consequences for him. “ I am well aware of what an undertaking this will be headmaster, and I am prepared to do whatever you require of me.” Severus replied.

“I am glad to hear it.” Said the headmaster giving Severus one last glance before reaching into his desk. “In that case you have a contract to sign.” Albus placed the long piece of parchment on his desk and handed Severus an eagle feather quill with which to sign it.

Severus quickly read over the contract and signed it with a flourish of his quill. He knew that in doing so he might have signed his own death warrant, but he also knew his chances to be a free man and to clear his name were better with Dumbledore standing behind him. 

“Severus I am very glad to welcome you to the staff of Hogwarts, and to the Order of the Phoenix. It is an honor to have such a gifted potions master amongst us, your services should prove to be invaluable to both the school and the Order.” Albus said smiling again. “ You will come to all Order meetings if at all possible, in addition to keeping up your guise as a death eater in Voldemort’s camp, I expect you to report everything to me, and I will give you information to present to your former master. In regards to your school related activities I trust that you will raise the bar and help bring these students up to the next level in their potions. I dare say they have not been working nearly as hard as they should be. I also trust that you will be willing to collaborate with our Mediwitch Madame Pomfrey, and our Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout. As Potions Master, your unique skills and talents will be needed throughout the year to brew potions needed at the school.”

“I am very happy to do anything you request of me headmaster, I am at your service.” Severus said humbly, hoping that the headmaster would truly understand how much he wanted to help, and how he truly had changed.

“Very well then Severus, now that everything is settled why don’t I have a house elf take you to your rooms? You can start settling in and begin work on your lesson plans for this coming term. The rest of the staff is not due to arrive for a few more days so that should give you enough time to readjust yourself to life at Hogwarts, and help you remember how to get around the school. As there are so few of us here right now I will have a house elf bring food to your rooms tonight for dinner.” Said Albus standing up and shaking Severus’ hand one last time. “ I hope you enjoy your time here, and that the position is worth your while.”

“Thank you headmaster.” Said Severus shaking the older man’s hand “I am sure my time here will be very enjoyable, and I am excited to begin working for you.” 

Albus wished Severus good luck once more and summoned a house elf to lead Severus to his new rooms. As he left the headmaster’s office Severus could not help but wonder what lay in store for him, and what possibilities this job held.


	2. The Early Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva arrives at Hogwarts a little earlier than expected for the new term and deals with some of the demons she has had to face.

Minerva McGonagall stood at the entrance to the castle she had called home for a little more than a third of her life. She had been a student here not so long ago, and had recently returned to teach. This year she would be taking on the position of Transfiguration Professor. Although she had first gotten a job here the year before, she was working as an assistant to the professor and spent her spare time working in the library alongside Madame Pince. 

The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had been able to lure her away from her job in the Ministry with very little persuasion. She jumped at the chance to return to Hogwarts and help educate the future of the wizarding world. Now here she was ready to begin a new school year, ready to take on her new responsibilities as a full fledged professor! She could hardly wait to see what this new school year had in store.

That was why she had come back to school early, she told herself over and over again. She was not trying to escape from what had happened at home, not trying to run away from her problems, she was here to prepare for the new school year, to become better acquainted with her new position and to begin planning lessons and putting her classroom together. Perhaps if she kept telling herself this it would validate her argument more. 

Firmly sticking to this resolve she pushed open one of the large doors that led to the entrance hall and with her belongings made her way to her new living quarters. When she arrived she was very happy with what she found. The rooms were very much to her liking, and she thought they would suit her quite well. There was much more space than she had expected, yet it was all very cozy and comfortable.

Her living quarters consisted of four rooms; a sitting room with a small kitchenette, a small room which she hoped to turn into a library or reading room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Looking around she found that the arrangement was very similar to that of a muggle flat. 

These new surroundings were able to temporarily distract her from the events of the summer, but only for a short while. Now that she was here standing in these rooms she realized that she could not deny her reasons for coming here so soon any longer. She was a coward, she had come here to escape, to run away from her problems. She could have been married, she could have been Mrs. Dougal Macgregor. 

Instead she had given that up in order to be herself and to be able to freely use her magic. Although she truly loved Dougal she could not give up something that was so much a part of her as her magic was. It would have been very difficult for her to change her lifestyle so much, she knew that she was not cut out to be an ordinary muggle housewife, not when there was a war going on, not when she had been given this position at Hogwarts.

As she stood there trying to keep her emotions in check she heard a knock on the door. Making sure everything was in order and that her momentary lapse in control would not be visible she made her way over to the door and opened it.She was very surprised to see Albus Dumbledore at the other side of it; a smile on his face and his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

“Minerva, I am so glad to see you.” said the Headmaster beaming “Although I must confess I did not expect you for a few more days.”

“I thought I might get an early start on things Headmaster, there is plenty of work for me to do in preparing for the new school term and it seems to me that it is better to get started sooner rather than later.” Minerva said. She wasn’t telling him a lie, she fully intended to get a jump start, it just wasn’t the whole truth.

“I see.” Dumbledore said still smiling. “ I trust your journey here was a pleasant one?”

“It went as well as one could hope for.” said Minerva as pleasantly as she could. She had the strangest sensation that Dumbledore knew more about what was going on then he led her to believe, but she shrugged it off.

“Very Good Minerva.” Dumbledore said “I hope these new rooms are to your liking Minerva.”

“I believe they shall suit me quite well.” Minerva said smiling.

“I’m glad you like them Minerva. You are free to decorate them in whatever manner you choose. The rooms and their furnishings are meant to adapt to your preferences . If you want to change something in your rooms you simply take out your wand, and tap the object twice while picturing how you would like it to look. Another alternative is to allow the room to decide for you based on your preferences. To do this you simply place your palm on the wall, close your eyes and clear your mind. It should only take a few moments for the process to be complete. I find that this method will save a good deal of trouble and that sometimes you even learn a little more about yourself in the process.” Dumbledore explained with a smile his blue eyes twinkling brightly.

“Thank you Headmaster, I know this will be helpful.” Minerva said gratefully she had been wondering what she was going to do about her new rooms, the ones she had stayed in before were much simpler and were already decorated.

“In regards to the entrance to your rooms I have taken the liberty of choosing a portrait to guard it.” Albus said still smiling. “If you will please follow me.”

Upon leaving her chambers and making her way into the hallway Minerva found that there was now a full sized portrait in place of the door that was there mere moments ago. A tall man in 18th century garb stood there in front of her, a horse behind him.

“Minerva, this is Sir Stephen I believe you will find him to be trustworthy, kind, honest and loyal. He shall serve you well.” Albus said gesturing towards the painting.

Sir Steven removed his tricornered hat and bowed low. “It will be a pleasure to serve you professor.” he said kindly. “I hope we shall become great friends!”

“Thank you Sir Stephen.” Minerva said nodding to the man. “ I am sure we will become very good friends, I look forward to getting to know you.”

“Minerva, I have some last minute business to do, so I really must be going. I wanted to let you know that this evening since there are so few people in the school, and since I am so busy your house elf will bring dinner to your rooms for you .” Dumbledore said. “ Welcome back Minerva, I hope we may talk some more when I have some more time.”

“So do I Headmaster.” Minerva said happy to have a friend. The two colleagues made their goodbyes and Albus made his departure. He really was like a second father to her, and Minerva was very glad to be on his staff. As she was thinking about all of this she was interrupted by Sir Stephen.

“Professor, what would you like to use as your password?” he asked politely.

Minerva gave it a few moments thought, then leaned in and whispered her new password to the portrait. Sir Stephen smiled and said “Yes I think that shall do quite nicely.” Then the portrait swung open and Minerva walked back in to her rooms, on the wall by the entrance a new empty frame hung. Minerva supposed that this one was also for good Sir Stephen.

After looking around her rooms for a few moments and giving it some thought Minerva walked towards the wall. She was not normally a woman to leave things completely up to chance, but something compelled her to try this and see what would happen, if she did not like it she could always change it into something more suitable. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, began to clear her mind and placed her palm against the cool stone.


	3. The Message

Severus had been at the school exactly three days, in that time he had managed to prepare lesson plans for half of the year. He had also prepared sample potions for his first through fifth year classes. He would begin brewing the potions for the advanced classes later in the day as they would require more of his attention. With only three days left until the start of term he wanted everything to be ready for his classes.

Severus Snape was a man that liked to have everything organized and planned out ahead of time, in other words he liked to have all of his ducks in a row. His reasons for preparing everything so far in advance were not solely based upon this preference of his however. One of the main reasons for this was to be sure that things were in order already so that his duties as a double spy did not interfere with his classes. If everything was prepared in advance he would be able to focus on both his teaching and other duties more. His duties to the Order would be no excuse for putting off his work.

Secondly, although he would never admit it he was secretly very excited at the prospect of this job, and he wanted to make a good impression. It had always been his dream to return to Hogwarts as a professor. This was the place he had always considered his home. If at all possible he would like for this job to be a permanent one.

As he was finishing preparing ingredients for a potion he was planning on using in his 6th year potions class his house elf, Abner, came in with his lunch on a tray. Severus quickly washed his hands and took the tray from the elf setting it on the table beside him. Once he had done this Abner handed him a sealed envelope with the Hogwarts crest on it.

“What is this Abner?” asked Severus kindly.

“It’s a message from Professor Dumbledore sir.” said Abner proudly. It was a great honor for him to carry a message from the headmaster. 

“Thank you very much, I will be sure to open this immediately.” Severus said to the elf. “Will that be all?” 

“Yes sir! Abner will return to the kitchens now, but if master needs Abner all he has to do is call and Abner will be right here.” squeaked the little elf happily before bowing and scampering off.

Severus could not help but smile at the little elf, Abner had grown on him over the last few days.The little elf was so eager to please, and to help his new master in any way he could. He had always disliked how some wizarding families treated their house elves, how they would abuse them and treat them as if they were the dirt beneath their feet. The world could be an incredibly unfair place, for humans and other beings alike. 

He felt like a hypocrite for thinking that, as a Death Eater he had made the world all the worse. Many of those he had associated with had committed unspeakable atrocities. He had been involved with some of their darker activities. No matter what he did he would never be able to escape his past. 

He had spent far too much time this week contemplating the errors he had made. Keeping busy had allowed him some solace, but there was only so much he could do to distract himself. Unless he was doing something that required a good deal of concentration that horrible feeling would come rushing back in. Visions of his past would come back, he kept replaying parts of his life he would rather change. Things he could have changed, times he should have spoken up, times he should have kept his mouth shut.

That had caused him the most trouble; it was his inability to keep silent that put him here today. As much as he liked his job and his second chance, he was filled with guilt. The only reason he was able to get this job was because he had put someone he loved and cared about in danger. Had he been able to keep his mouth shut she would be safe right now. If anything happened to her now he knew that he would never be able to forgive himself. At this point there was not much he could do for her but pray.

Reaching into the pouch at his waist he pulled out a well used rosary. It had been given to him by his mother as a Confirmation gift many years ago. Ever since then he had always kept it on his person. He used to pray the rosary once or twice every day, but during his time as a death eater he had fallen away from that practice. It had been a dark time in his life one which he was very much ashamed of. In the recent weeks he had returned to his daily prayer. Rosary in hand he knelt down on the cold stone floor and began to pray, leaving his meal untouched until he finished.

After quickly eating his meal Severus turned to the envelope Abner had brought him earlier. He gently broke the seal and opened it to find a small note tucked inside. Upon reading the note Severus groaned loudly. There was to be a staff meeting before dinner in Dumbledore’s office. That should prove to be an interesting experience; Severus had been dreading this first meeting since he got the job. It was not that he did not want to meet the rest of the staff, it was not that at all. He was not ready to face the looks of disapproval that would surely be on their faces once they saw him.

Many of the staff members had been there when he had attended Hogwarts. What would they say about Dumbledore hiring an ex-death eater to be the school’s new potions master? If they did not already know they would find out soon enough. 

There was no way he could get out of it, even if he could he would still have to face the other members of the staff later on. It was better to get this over with sooner rather than later, if it went too much longer he knew it would be even harder to deal with. So he resigned himself to his fate and continued with his work.


	4. The Note

Minerva sat on the sofa in her sitting room quill in hand, there was a pile of papers scattered on her coffee table along with the latest issue of Transfiguration Today. For the three days she had been here she had tried to distract herself from the events of the summer by delving further into her work. Although she had prepared for many of her lessons over the summer she had started making revisions on them. It was not that this was necessary but the work helped distract her from what was going on in the world outside the safe confines of the school.

She had tried many activities to take her mind off of things but work was the only one that seemed to help. For the most part her time back at the school had been confined to her rooms, it was not that she was not allowed to leave them it was just she could not bring herself to leave them for too long. She needed time to herself for awhile before seeing the other staff members again. This summer was still so fresh in her mind her emotions were barely under control. If anyone saw her in this state she would be absolutely mortified.

Despite all of the time she had spent here this week she was still not used to her surroundings. Her rooms were so different from what she had expected them to be; not so much in the furnishings but the color scheme. Of course there were her Gryffindor colors in the rooms but surprisingly they were the minority. Almost everything in her living quarters was a deep shade of emerald green. The curtains, the couch, the comfortable chairs around the fireplace in the sitting room, all of it was emerald green.

Admittedly the whole room fit together rather nicely, the furnishings were elegant, and the colors set each other off very well. Minerva had tried to change it, but her attempts were futile. After changing the colors of the curtains and chairs everything had reverted back to this shade of green again. It was as if the room did not agree with her judgement in decorations. For the life of her Minerva could not understand why.

Minerva had always tried to avoid the color completely; although green was not altogether an unpleasing color it had notoriously been associated with dark magic throughout the years. Even though it was not out of the ordinary for witches and wizards to wear green, it was generally a lighter shade of green, not this deep emerald color she was surrounded by. To add insult to injury green was also one of Slytherin’s colors. Of all things her rooms had to be in her rival house’s colors. If Horace ever found out he would never let her live it down. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of her house elf Mitzi. “Good afternoon Mistress McGonagall.” Mitzi said happily “ I have your lunch and a letter from Professor Dumbledore.”

“Oh?” Said Minerva getting up from her spot on the sofa and walking over to the little elf. She could not imagine what the Headmaster would have to say to her.

“Professor Dumbledore told Mitzi to bring you the letter with your lunch miss. He said that you should open it soon.” Mitzi said

“ I will certainly do that Mitzi!” Minerva said accepting the tray and the note from the little elf.

“Thank you Mistress McGonagall, Mitzi will return to the kitchens now but if Mistress needs anything I is coming right back.” Said the little elf bowing then disappearing with a crack.

When the elf had gone Minerva took her tray back to her spot and made some room for it on the table. Before touching her meal she opened the envelope and read the message from Albus. After going over its contents she sighed and replaced the letter in its envelope. 

A staff meeting, of all things. She should have known this was coming. After all the new term was about to begin and there was so much yet to do. The thought of it all made her head spin, if there was a staff meeting tonight there would almost certainly be an Order Meeting within the week. New assignments would be coming both in the classroom and in the field. 

It would be a relief when this war was over and there would be peace once more. Too many innocent people had been lost. In these times all one could do was to fight for the cause and pray that everything would be alright.

Lately Minerva had been doing a lot of praying, it was the only thing carrying her through everything. Mostly she prayed for an end to the war and the safety and future of the wizarding world; but sometimes she prayed for herself. Although she felt selfish for doing it she prayed that one day she would be able to find happiness and have a family of her own.

It seemed foolish that with all of the suffering in the wizarding world that she could still think of such frivolous things. She was a member of the Order and a teacher at Hogwarts. A family was a luxury she would probably never get. Her life was so consumed with work and Order business that it would not be feasible. This summer had probably been her last chance and she had allowed it to slip through her fingers.

Finally all that she had given up hit her. In turning down Dougal’s proposal she had turned down any chance at a normal life. In all likelihood she would probably never have a husband or children of her own. She would be alone for the rest of her life.

Tears began to well up in Minerva’s eyes as they had many times this past week, but this time she did nothing to stop them. All of the emotions she had been trying to keep in check all week had suddenly come pouring out of her. She broke down and wept until she had no more tears left in her.


	5. The Staff Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus and Minerva attend their first staff meeting of the new school term, and are introduced to their fellow staff members.

After finishing up with his work and his lunch Severus grudgingly noted that he would need to be on his way to the staff meeting soon. Taking his time he washed his hands and his equipment before going to his bedroom to change into cleaner robes. He was not ashamed to admit that he had been hoping against all odds that this meeting would be canceled. Alas his hopes were dashed when Albus had sent out an extra reminder about the meeting in the off chance that anyone had forgotten about it.

Severus knew that he meant it for him. Not that he would forget, Albus just did not want him pulling any tricks. Not that Severus would not show up to the meeting, the thought had crossed his mind, but it had left just as quickly as it had come. It would not do for him to miss the first meeting of the school term.

Taking one final look around his rooms he walked out the door and began making his way through the corridors to the Headmaster's office. He would be early, that much was certain, but hopefully that meant that he could find a seat near the back of the room and go unnoticed. When he reached the gargoyle he uttered the password and it leapt aside. He made his way onto the staircase as it began its ascent towards Dumbledore's office, there was no going back now.

When the staircase reached the door to the Headmaster's office Severus knocked on the door which immediately opened for him. The Headmaster was nowhere in sight, but a rather odd assortment of chairs had already been set up. They were clustered near the window, facing a larger chair Severus assumed to be the Headmaster's.

Severus quietly made his way to the back of the cluster of chairs and sat down in the last row. While still providing a good vantage point this particular spot he had chosen was somewhat obscured by shadows. This and his black robes would make him less noticeable.

While he waited for the other members of the staff to arrive Severus admired the office around him. Never before had he been given the opportunity to view all of the knickknacks that filled this room. Now without anyone else there he took this time to study his surroundings.

He found himself quite alone in the headmaster's office for a quarter of an hour, but this did not bother him in the least. It was still better to be early and unnoticed rather than draw too much attention to himself. He used this time to prepare himself mentally for the judgement that was going to come from his new peers. They all knew his story, he was certain of it. How could they not have? In the off chance that they did not it would be explained to them soon enough.

Severus' thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a somewhat distraught looking witch. At first glance he could see that she was a young woman. She held herself regally but something in her demeanor told him that she was upset. Right now she looked the way he felt, and he couldn't help but commiserate with her. At this point he was not alone, while their problems were not the same, he had someone that was in a similar situation around.

The witch also found a spot to the rear of the Headmaster's office, somewhere out of the way. Severus stared intently at her for a few moments, it would seem that she had not noticed him. For a moment he contemplated starting a conversation with her, but then he thought better of it. It would be best not to bother her, or to draw more attention to himself.

Soon the other members of the staff began filing into the room, chatting happily amongst themselves and filling up all of the empty chairs. To be surrounded by all of this cheerfulness was almost too much for Severus to take right now. Looking over to the witch sitting near him he could tell that she too was rather uncomfortable. In all the time she had been in the room with him, Severus was unable to look at her face. Her hat was tilted in such a way that it was completely obscured from his sight. There was something very familiar about her bearing, but he could not quite place what it was.

The two did not have to endure these surroundings for too long, the many conversations in the room died away as Dumbledore made his entrance from above. It would seem that he had been there all along. As he made his way down the stairs he met Severus' eyes and gave him a meaningful look. His eyes fell on the nearby witch next, he looked at her with what Severus would call an almost fatherly affection making him all the more curious about her identity.

By the time Albus had made it to his chair, the whole room was silent. It was evident that everyone in this room had a great deal of respect for this man.

"Welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts." Albus began looking around the room. "I am happy to see so many of you have returned to continue teaching this year. In times like these it is good for the students to continue to see familiar faces."

"Now that everyone is settled in and I have had the chance to meet with each of you individually, it is time for us to get down to business and begin preparation for this school year. As a first order of business I would like to briefly review our student professor conduct rules. Now as all of you know our students are not always perfect and occasionally disciplinary action must be taken."

There were a few snorts and laughs from the staff members. It would seem that things had not changed much since he had been at school here. Students would always be getting into mischief. Severus would make sure that the students did not cause any of this trouble in his classroom. the last thing he needed this year was to put up with ill behaved children.

Once the chuckling had subsided Albus returned to giving his speech about punishments and treatment of students. It was all common sense as far as Severus was concerned. Transfiguration was not to be used as a punishment, teachers were not to use cruel and unusual methods, instead they were to be creative; making punishments learning experiences.

The Headmaster further went on to explain that students and teachers were forbidden from starting relationships with one another. Why any professor would want to start a relationship with a student was a mystery to Severus, they were far too immature and had problems enough with people their own age.

The Headmaster further explained the importance of keeping a schedule, lessons plans, and the teacher evaluations that were to occur randomly throughout the school year. After a few more notices about changes to the rules Albus wrapped up the general meeting. Throughout this entire time it seemed that no one had noticed Severus. Luck seemed to be with him today.

"Before we adjourn this meeting I have one final announcement to make." Severus groaned inwardly. he knew it had been too good to be true. "This term I would like to welcome two new members to the staff of Hogwarts. These two individuals are of the highest quality, although they are both quite young I assure you that they have a lot to offer to the school. In more ways than you could imagine." He stared pointedly at Severus as he was saying this. He got the message immediately.

"Firstly I would like to introduce our new transfiguration professor. Many of you will recognize her from her time here as a student, and from her work here last term as an assistant to Madam Pince and myself. If you would please stand and be recognized."

The witch who was near Severus stood up quietly. "It is my pleasure to introduce all of you to Minerva McGonagall." The room burst into applause. Severus now knew why she seemed so familiar to him, the two of them had gone to school together. They had even been friends. It had been a few years since they had spoken. For a few moments he entertained the idea that they might be friendly again, that he would have someone he could talk with. That thought left him almost as soon as it had come. How could she possibly want to speak with him? The very thought of it was preposterous.

"Once Minerva had returned to her seat Albus continued his speech. "After all of his years in service to the school Professor Slughorn has decided to retire. It gives me great pleasure to introduce his replacement. He is a man of many talents and indeed the youngest professor Hogwarts has ever had. Severus Snape will be taking on the responsibilities of Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. If you will please stand up Severus."

Severus stood up obediently, keeping eye contact with the Headmaster the entire time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Minerva was watching him. To his surprise her look wasn't one of disdain, or even pity, in fact he could almost swear that she smiled at him.

His thought process was interrupted by the Headmaster again. "Now that everything has been settled let us adjourn this meeting and go down to the great hall for dinner. I am looking forward to seeing all of you there."

With that the Headmaster left his office with the other staff members following suit. A few of them greeted Severus and Minerva kindly as they made their way out of the room. At last they were the only two left bringing up the rear of the group.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts Severus." Minerva said this time she actually did smile at him.

"Thank you Minerva, it is good to be back here again." Severus replied cordially. "Might I add how nice it is to see a familiar face?"

"Thank you Severus I share your sentiments. It has been far too long since I have seen anyone from my school days. It will certainly be refreshing to have another young professor here." She replied. "I am interested to see how things will pan out for you this year."

"As am I." Severus replied. "As am I."


	6. A Chess Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After looking for something to distract herself one afternoon Minerva happens upon a coworker in the library and a friendship begins.

The first week of school went about as well as could be expected considering the state of things in their world. It was evident that some students would not be back this year. Although she had only been an assistant in the classroom last year, Minerva still felt the absence of some of those who would not be returning. Some had gone missing, others had gone into hiding with their families. She did not even want to think about the fate that had befallen some of the students.

Her heart ached for them, this war had been difficult on everyone, no one was exempt from it. She had thought it would be easy to forget some of the terrors going on in their world at the school, obviously she had thought wrong. Although being at the school provided some reprieve, there were still some things that she would not be able to escape.

For the sake of the students it was important that she paint on a smile everyday, and act as if everything was normal. Although it almost seemed irreverent to the memories of the ones who had been lost, she knew that the students, as young as they were, should have some sense of normalcy.

She was thankful that the first week of school was over, she had been looking forward to this for awhile now. Albus had promised her a chess game this evening and she could not help being excited for it. At this point it was just what she needed, to relax and unwind. Besides Albus would be able to provide good conversation, and he would always provide a listening ear. It was not that she wasn't friends with the other staff members, it was just that she was closer to Albus than any of them.

He had always been like a second father to her. Throughout her years at Hogwarts he had mentored her and worked with her tirelessly. Albus was the reason she had pursued transfiguration, the reason that she had jumped at the chance to return to Hogwarts as a staff member.

Now as she left her rooms to go to Albus's Office for the first time since the beginning of term she felt some sense of happiness. The Headmaster's Office wasn't terribly far from her own rooms, and within a few short minutes she was there. Giving the gargoyle the password she ascended to the Headmaster's office. When she had reached it she knocked on his door and waited patiently for a response.She did not have to wait long, within a minute the Headmaster bade her to enter.

"Good evening Headmaster." Minerva said upon entering the office. "I hope everything is well."

Albus looked up from his work upon her greeting. "Good evening Minerva, all is well with me, as I hope it is with you as well. How was your first week teaching?" He asked getting up from his desk to speak with her.

"I must confess that it has been a bit rough, I was not anticipating so many of our students being gone."

"That is the way of the world at war Minerva. All we can do is to work to make the world a better place our our students, and hope that they may soon live in peace again." Albus replied embracing Minerva warmly.

"Is everything going well in your classes with the exception of the missing students?" he asked once he had let go of her. "None of the students are giving you too much trouble yet, are they."

"No, not yet Albus. If any do try to give me trouble they will promptly be put in their places." She replied adamantly.

"It seems as if you have everything under control and I am so very happy to hear that." Albus said smiling. "I would love to hear all about your week, but sadly our conversation is going to have to be cut short. I know we were supposed to have a chess game today, but there is so much for me to work on right now. Perhaps another night this week?"

"I completely understand." Minerva said doing her best to hide her disappointment.

"Thank you Minerva, perhaps on Wednesday night?" Albus asked.

"Perhaps." Minerva replied pasting a smile on her face.

"Good, I'll mark it in my calendar then." he replied smiling at her. " Perhaps you might find someone in the staff room to talk to tonight. It is about time that you were a bit more social. I'm sure Poppy or Pomona are quite anxious to catch up with you about the summer."

"It has been a long week, perhaps if I just went back to my rooms and retired early tonight." Minerva began.

"Now now Minerva, I will hear no more of this. You have spent far too much time in your rooms it is time for you to come to terms with what happened this summer and return to life as usual. It will not do to sit and dwell on things that will never be. Rather, think of this time in a more positive light. This is your chance to make a difference, to help our world. It is time for you to rejoin us again and be that wonderful joyful, courageous woman we all know that you are." Albus told her kindly. "Now, I want you to promise me that you will not go straight to your rooms after this."

Reluctantly Minerva gave in. "Alright." she said "I promise that I will not go right back to my rooms."

"Good. I promise you Minerva that this request of mine is for your own good." Albus said comfortingly a twinkle in he blue eyes. "Now please go out and have a pleasant evening."

"I will try my best." Minerva said managing a small smile.

"That is what I like to hear." Albus said with a smile of his own.

The two colleagues bade one another farewell soon after and Minerva left the headmaster's office quietly afterwards. Walking down the halls towards the staff room Minerva considered the Headmaster's request. She knew that he was right, it was time fore her to start spending time outside of her rooms again. She needed to get out and socialize with the rest of the staff, with her friends. Just thinking about it made her realize just how much she had missed them.

When she reached the staffroom door however her confidence crumbled a little bit. On the other side she could hear talking and laughter. It sounded as if everyone was in there right now. Although she felt that it was time for her to rejoin the rest of the staff this was just a little too much at once. If it was just Poppy and Pomona that would be one thing, but this whole group was a different matter entirely.

A sudden thought struck Minerva as she was standing out side of the staffroom door. She had not promised Albus that she would go to the staffroom, only that she would not go straight to her rooms. Technically speaking she had gone out of her way to come here, so if she went to her rooms now she would not be breaking her promise to him. With that thought in mind she began heading back to her rooms.

As she was climbing one of the staircases to get back it suddenly decided to move. She groaned a bit at the inconvenience of this. It would add a few minutes to her trip. The staircase stopped at a point where there were no others that would take her back. In fact, unless she wanted to sit around and wait until this staircase would change again she would have to go around the other side of the castle to get to her rooms.

Since there really was no telling when the staircase was going to move again she stepped off and began walking down the corridor. She was not walking long before she heard the sounds of stone scraping and moving away behind her. Running back to take a look she saw that the staircase had moved again, stranding her here and ensuring that she would have to take this way back.

"Blasted staircase" she thought as she began to make her way to the other side of the castle. As she was walking that way she realized that she was quite close to the library. Perhaps she would make a slight detour before heading back to her rooms. Some new reading material would be nice. The library was also sure to be very quiet.

Upon entering the library she found it to be blissfully silent, just what she was looking for. On the first Friday of term it seemed that most of the students had decided not to spend their time studying in the library. Not that Minerva blamed them, it was only the beginning of term, no need to push them yet. Later in the year things would be different.

She leisurely walked through the stacks occasionally picking up books and glancing through them. After about fifteen minutes she had a small stack of books she was planning on checking out. She was looking for just one more book before she went back to her rooms and then she would be set for the weekend.

As she turned the next corner she noticed that she was not alone; someone else was at the end of the shelf looking intently at some of the books as well. It was the new potions master. Perhaps he had wanted to stay away from everyone in the staff room as well. She remembered that he liked to keep to himself and so she decided that she would give him some space.

Before she could make it out of the stacks he looked up from the book he held in his hands and spotted her. "Minerva." Severus said greeting her civilly.

"Severus." she replied equally as civil.

"What brings you to the library on a night such as this one?" He asked her. Evidently he was surprised to see her here.

"I was just looking for some books to read over the weekend." She said. "Why else does one go to a library?"

"Yes, I do suppose that is the whole purpose of going to the library. Shouldn't you be in the staff room right now though? It is the end of the week, I am sure our colleagues would love to hear about how your first week of teaching went." He said.

"I could ask the same thing of you." Minerva said wryly.

"Touché." Severus replied. "However it does seem as if you would already have plans for a Friday night. None of which would have involved spending your time in a library."

"Who are you to say what my plans would involve or not? Perhaps I was planning this all week."

"Minerva, I give you far more credit than that. I highly doubt that this was something you would plan out throughout the week. It is not as though stopping by the library requires that much planning." Severus said with a smirk. "Which is why it baffles me that our students cannot seem to find their way here a little more often."

"It's only the first week of school for them Severus, they are getting used to everything again. You can hardly blame them for not wanting to spend all of their time studying, especially with what has been going on in our world right now. It is fine for us to cut them a little slack now and then." Minerva said emphatically.

"What is going on in our world right now is precisely why they should be studying more and working harder in school. We need to do all that we can do to prepare them to face whatever is in store for them, and in order to do that we must arm them in whatever ways we can. As much as we may want to we cannot cut them any slack, at least not right now." Severus said quietly. "For every little thing we allow to slide by we may be putting our students at risk. The more they learn here the more they are equipped to survive in this world."

"I never thought of it that way before." Minerva said softly. What he said made perfect sense, even if she did not want it to.

"In order to prepare our students for the world we must think that way. Far too many innocent lives have been lost, far too many endangered by foolish mistakes." Severus said, for just a moment something in him wavered a bit. It was almost imperceptible but Minerva was sure she saw it.

"I understand." she replied gently. "Perhaps I have taken up too much of your time, after all you probably have plans for tonight that I may be interrupting."

"No, nothing of the sort I can assure you. Have I been keeping you from anything?" he asked.

"Nothing important." She replied.

"As neither of us have anything pressing, would you like to join me for a game of chess this evening?" He asked her. "We could continue our conversation. It is not very late, the library is still open for awhile."

"I would love that." She said with a smile.


	7. A Pressing Engagement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus is forced to cancel a chess game with Minerva, due to a pressing engagement.

The first week of term had gone far better than Severus had been expecting it to. Indeed as he had expected some of his students were in fact complete dunderheads. Some of them were quite bright too, but one of the things all of them had in common was that they were dreadfully behind in their coursework. This did create some problems for him, he was expecting that most of the students would have been at a higher level.

Unlike the rest of the professors he had decided that it was best to push the students from the very beginning of the school year. Therefore even though it was only the first week of school he had already assigned papers to his students in all years. The students were beginning to understand that with him as their instructor they would be held to a higher standard than they were in the past. Especially his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. Students.

Most of his time outside of class was spent in meetings with the Headmaster, and getting ready for his other duties to the school and to the Order. In his time at the school he had barely spent any time with his fellow staff members. This did not bother him much, as he was used to being alone.

Even so he had to admit that the time he spent with Minerva the evening before had been rather enjoyable. It had been a long time since he had been able to sit down with someone and just play a friendly game of chess and have a stimulating conversation. He had forgotten what an engaging personality Minerva had. The two of them talked until Madame Pince so eloquently told them to make themselves scarce.

It was at this point that the two of them bid adieu and went their separate ways, although not before planning to continue their chess game, and their conversation, the next day. They had planned to meet again in a secluded corner of the library, out of the way so they would not disturb anybody who might be studying.

At this moment Severus was on his way to the library to meet her. He hoped that the library would not be too busy, it would be far easier to talk that way. He could not tell Minerva everything, that went without saying. Still, there was no harm in confiding in someone about his job here at the school as a teacher.

As he walked towards the library he felt as if his burden were just a little bit lighter. He now knew that he would not have to go through this whole ordeal completely alone. It was then as he walked through the doors of the library that it happened. The tingling on his arm signaling that the Dark Lord was to call a meeting. It wasn't burning yet, which was a good thing. This meant that he still had a little bit of time before he had to leave.

Unfortunately though this time could not be spent with Minerva, it would have to be spent with the headmaster. He would expect to brief Severus before he left on which information he could give up. He would also be expected to report to the Headmaster as soon as he returned that evening, assuming he was able to return that night.

It would be to his best advantage to turn around and immediately head to the Headmaster's office; this would give him time to compose himself and clear his mind before he had to depart. Still, he felt bad leaving Minerva without any notice. He did not want to ruin whatever chance of a friendship he had with her; things were just starting to look up for him.

Without thinking he began walking to the place they had planned to meet. He was going to tell her something, some reason that he could not stay tonight. Then he could postpone their meeting to another evening. This way she would know that he had not forgotten about their meeting, or chosen to ignore it altogether.

When he reached the appointed meeting place Minerva was already there. "Hello Severus, how nice it is to see you again." She greeted him.

"It's a pleasure to see you again as well Minerva." Severus said with a hint of a smile.

"I've already set up the chess board so we can begin a game of chess. This time I will best you." Minerva said her eyes shining brightly with competitive spirit.

"As much as I look forward to beating you in chess I regret to say that I will be unable to stay." Severus replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that." she said some of the light going out of her green eyes.

"I truly am very sorry about this Minerva but something came up a few minutes ago, a rather pressing engagement." Severus said apologetically.

"Is there any way you could get out of it?" Minerva asked intently.

"I am afraid not, I am under orders from the Headmaster. If it were up to me, and I was able to choose between these two things, I would choose to stay." Severus replied sincerely.

"I understand, I hope everything goes well." She said kindly trying to conceal her disappointment.

"Could we perhaps meet another night this week for a game of chess? Maybe tomorrow night, or this Wednesday?" Severus asked her. He could feel the tingling in his arm getting stronger, he didn't have much time.

"I have plans for this Wednesday night, but tomorrow evening will be fine. What time?"

"Would 7:00 be alright?" He asked her

"That should be fine. Shall we meet here again?"

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea." Severus said. "I really must be going now, it was truly a pleasure seeing you today."

"Thank you Severus, it was a pleasure to see you to. Best of luck with your endeavors this evening." Minerva replied.

"Thank you, I shall need it." He said. "Good evening Minerva, have a wonderful night."

"Good evening Severus." she said, before the two of them went their separate ways.

Severus picked up his pace as he left the library. There was one more stop he had to make before going to the Headmaster's Office; he needed to get his traveling cloak from his rooms, and a few flasks filled with potions. As a potions master one of his regular duties within the death eaters had been to brew the potions that were needed by the Dark Lord, and anyone else in his inner circle.

These could be anything from poisons to simple headache potions. This week however they were all medicinal potions. At least these were ones he could make with a clean conscience. When he had to make poisons that was a different story entirely. One that he did not have the time to contemplate.

It did not take him long to get these materials; he placed the flasks in his pockets and carried the cloak with him. In order to make the most of the time he had before he had to leave Severus took advantage of the many secret passages and found himself outside of the Headmaster's office in a few short minutes.

He gave the password to the gargoyles and quickly ascended to the Headmaster's door. After knocking on the door he was promptly admitted. When he entered Albus rose from his desk to meet him.

"Good evening Severus, what brings you here at this time." The Headmaster asked wearily.

"I have been summoned Headmaster." Severus replied curtly.

Albus' mood immediately changed. "How long do you have before you need to leave?" He asked.

"Perhaps ten minutes at the most Headmaster, the Dark Lord does not like to be kept waiting." Severus said.

"Less time than I would have liked, but I am sure we can get everything settled before you need to leave." Albus remarked quickly. "As this is the first week of school you may report how your classes are going. You may also mention that the Order has not yet met this school term so you have nothing to report on that front."

"As you wish Headmaster." Severus replied. "Will that be all?"

"For now yes. When you return you will report directly to me. Do I make myself clear?" Albus asked.

"Crystal." Severus said. "You do understand that it might be quite late when I return?"

"Of course, but that does not change the situation. I assure you I will still be up and waiting for you." Albus said. "The information you provide will be quite valuable to the Order, the sooner you are able to relay that information to me, the better."

"I will see you when I return then Headmaster."

"I will be expecting you." Albus said sitting down behind his desk and resuming what he had been working on.

Severus took this to mean that their meeting was over and he left. Throwing his cloak on he quickly navigated the halls of Hogwarts and the grounds making his way until he reached the path to Hogsmeade. His pace was brisk and he made it to the village just in time. The Mark on his arm began to burn white hot before he had made it into Hogsmeade. He quickened his pace making it into the village a few minutes later. Upon entering the village without delay he made his way to the appointed place. Quickly he crossed himself, then with a pop he was gone.

It was not long before he reappeared again at the gates of Malfoy Manor. It seemed that more and more meetings have been held here as of late. The Malfoys really were an ambitious family, it would seem that their influence was growing. He just hoped that they did not get themselves in too deep.

The Malfoys were not horrible people their hubris was that they always wanted to be in positions of influence and power. They would find any means to an end. As The Dark Lord came to power Lucius saw a chance and he took it. He was by no means free of guilt, he did agree with many of the core beliefs of the death eaters.

For the sake of his wife, and for the simple matter that he did not like to get his hands dirty Lucius rarely participated in most of the activities. He had attained a high enough rank through his loyalty and ambitions that he did not have to.

Severus gave the signal to the man at the gate, after a moment he was granted entrance. He walked down the path to the main house. It wasn't long before he made it inside and downstairs to where the meeting was taking place. Everyone was already gathered, he was the last one to arrive. He sincerely hoped that his tardiness would be overlooked, it was not pleasant for the one who arrived last.

"Ah, Severus you have deigned to join us." Voldemort said bowing his head. "We are ever so glad to see that you have graced us with your presence.

"I came as soon as I could my lord." Severus replied.

"Yes, but the point remains that you are late. You know the consequences." He answered coldly. "Your wand please."

"My lord, I was in a meeting with the Headmaster before I left. Surely if I am to keep up this act I have to follow through with the duties of the job." Severus reasoned.

"I cannot bend the rules for you Severus, no exceptions for anyone. Perhaps this will teach you to make better use of your time. Now hand over your wand or I will be forced to take it from you. Believe me, it will be easier if you hand it over." He said rather calmly.

Reluctantly Severus handed over his wand, the Dark Lord took it at once. "Thank you for your cooperation Severus, this will make things easier I assure you." Voldemort said with a smile as cold as ice. "Rodolphus, if you would please show Severus the importance of punctuality."

"With pleasure Master." he said stepping forward, his wand out. "Let this be a lesson to you Severus."

"I am sure it will be." he said; quickly preparing himself for what was to come. He focused all of his energy on clearing his mind and blocking everything out. This would be the worst time for him to let his guard down.

Rodolphus pointed his wand at Severus and with a wicked smile on his face uttered the dreaded curse. "Crucio."

The pain was nearly unbearable, but Severus kept his mouth shut and his mind clear. Soon the pain was os bad that he collapsed, banging his head on the coffee table as he went down. Still he did not cry out; he would not give them that satisfaction. The last thing he saw was Voldemort watching him amusedly before everything went black.


	8. Exploding Snap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A breakfast time conversation, a trip to Hogsmeade, a walk around the lake, and a challenge.

A haggard looking Severus walked into the great hall for breakfast the next morning a few minutes late. He was normally rather punctual, Minerva mused as he found made his way up to the head table. He seemed positively worn out. She could not remember a time when he had looked so tired. The last she had seen of him was the night before when he had to cancel their chess game.

She had been disappointed afterwards, but she understood that he had somewhere to be and she was glad they could reschedule for the next week. After seeing him today though she was not sure if Severus would be up to it. Perhaps the reason he had to leave was due to an illness of some sort. It was quite possible that he had been trying to save face when he told her that he had a pressing engagement.

After a moment Minerva decided to strike up a conversation with him. It seemed impolite to ask him what was ailing him, but perhaps he would be willing to talk to her.

"Good morning Severus. How are you today?" She asked kindly as he took his seat.

Surprised that someone had taken notice of him Severus quickly responded. "I'm doing well Minerva, and you?"

"I'm fine." she replied. "I trust you were able to make your engagement last evening?"

"Indeed I was, though I ended up being a few minutes tardy." he replied. "How was your evening?"

"Not terribly exciting I would assure you. I ended up going back to my rooms and reading for awhile, before Poppy invited me to play a game of exploding snap with her." Minerva said happy that he was still taking an interest in the conversation. She was glad to have found a friend in Severus.

"Who won?" He asked.

"Out of the six games we played Poppy won five of them." Minerva replied. "I'm sorry to say I am not much at exploding snap."

"I find that hard to believe. You are quite competitive." Severus replied with a smirk. "You enjoy a challenge, and even more I think that you like to win. I believe that if she won that many games, it's because you allowed her to."

"Since when are you an expert on me?" Minerva asked indignantly. "How do you know that I am not just horrible at exploding snap?"

"I would be questioning your abilities as a transfiguration professor if you were as bad as you say you are. The game requires a good memory, and attention to detail. All traits that you have to possess to be proficient in transfiguration." Severus replied.

"Indeed, is that the only reason you would believe that?" She asked.

"Well, there was also the fact that you were the reigning champion of that game in our fifth year. I hardly believe that you would have lost that ability in this short a time period." He said cheekily. "I know that I do not overestimate you."

"The jury is still out on that one." Minerva said smiling a little bit. "Perhaps one of these evenings we should play a game of exploding snap ourselves."

"I think that I can agree to that, as it can only prove that I am correct in my assertions." Severus replied almost haughtily.

Minerva laughed a little bit at this. "Perhaps I shall prove you wrong, have you ever thought of that professor high and mighty?"

"Perhaps. I find myself rather intrigued now." Severus replied. "Are you terribly busy today?"

"For the most part no, after church I am free." she replied.

"Perhaps I could accompany you there, and afterwards we could return to the school and play a few rounds of exploding snap over tea?" Severus asked her.

"I would enjoy that very much." Minerva said smiling.

"What time should we depart?" he asked her as they got up from the head table and began to leave the Great Hall.

"Could we meet at the entrance in about fifteen minutes?" Minerva asked.

"Certainly. I look forward to it." He said. By this point they had reached the staircase and gone their separate ways, Minerva going upstairs and Severus going down to the dungeons.

This day was certainly going differently than Minerva had expected it to. She made it back to her rooms quickly and took some time to change into different robes. Looking around her room she found her rosary and placed it inside an inner pocket of her robes. There were butterflies in her stomach, and she was not sure why. He was going to Church with her, this was not something she needed to worry about.

After taking one last look in the mirror to make sure that her hair was sill in place she made her way down the stairs to the entrance. It was a few minutes before they had planned to meet, but Minerva wanted to make sure that she was ready to go. To her surprise Severus was already waiting for her. He too had changed robes, and he had pulled his hair back.

"You're early." he said to her, half a smile on his face.

"I could say the same for you." she replied grinning.

"You could, you could also say I'm prepared." he replied. "Shall we be on our way now?"

"Of course." Minerva replied, and they began their trek to the church. They made their way to the church in relative silence which did not bother Minerva. Not the way it would with other people anyhow. There was something different about Severus Snape, but she could not quite put her finger on what it was.

The church was one of three in Hogsmeade village.It was an old church, perhaps almost as old as the castle itself was. A constant in this volatile world they now lived in. The high vaulted ceiling and the towering stained glass windows made it very distinct from the other buildings in the village. It was beautiful inside and out, but not overstated. It's majesty rested in its humility. Minerva felt safe here, safer even than she did at Hogwarts with all of its defenses and enchantments. Just walking into the church she felt as if a weight was lifted from her chest and a sense of calm washed over her.

The two of them found a pew in the middle of the church. Minerva noticed that Severus winced, almost imperceptibly as he knelt beside her. Perhaps he had injured himself somehow. To Minerva's surprise Severus took out a well used rosary and began to pray silently. She had not taken him to be the religious type before. The deep concentration in his face, and the way he bowed his head in prayer allowed her to see him in a different light. Perhaps as the saying goes appearances can be deceiving. After a moment she took out her own rosary and joined him in silent prayer.

Once the Mass had ended Severus and Minerva exited the church quietly and began walking through Hogsmeade and back towards the castle grounds.

"Thank you for accompanying me to church." Minerva said once they had passed through the village gates and onto the path towards Hogwarts.

"It was my pleasure Minerva. It has been awhile since I have been to church with someone else. Perhaps we can make this a weekly event?" He said looking over at Minerva intently.

"I should like that very well." Minerva replied smiling. "Very well indeed."

Rather than walk straight back to the castle the two of them decided to walk around the grounds for awhile instead. There was a pleasant little path that wound through the castle grounds, through the gardens and around the lake. For awhile they walked in silence, just taking in the scenery around them.

"It really is a lovely day." Minerva said to Severus as they walked at the edge of the lake.

"That it is." Severus replied looking out at the lake.

"Days like this almost make me forget that we are in the midst of a war." Minerva said sighing.

"Unfortunately that is something that we cannot forget, if we lose sight of what is going on we will allow ourselves to give into the darkness whether we chose to or not." Severus said, more roughly than Minerva had expected.

"I know that." Minerva said. "Sometimes it is nice to get away from it all for awhile. I do not believe that we have room to forget about the war, but we can allow ourselves some happiness from time to time I think."

"I am sorry, I was a bit harsh. Forgive me." Severus said.

"I understand, and I do agree with you. I just hope that soon this war will be over, and that we may again live in peace." Minerva replied.

"As do I, but I fear there will be many more casualties before this wretched war ends." Severus said quietly. " I'm sorry, I shouldn't be dwelling on this right now."

"This war has not been easy on any of us Severus. You are most likely correct, we have lost many, and we will probably lose many more before this war is over." Minerva said. "Friends, family, loved ones. Our world is very similar to a game of exploding snap right now. If someone makes the wrong move situations can become rather explosive. We just need to push through this."

"Indeed. On that note I feel that I have cast enough of a dark cloud over this lovely day." Severus said. "Now I believe that we were going to investigate these exploding snap skills of yours, or as you would have me believe a lack there of."

"As I would have you believe?" Minerva asked. "You just will not accept the fact that I am bad at this game."

"We shall see Minerva, we shall see." Severus replied as they reached the castle doors.


	9. An Invaluable Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is important that the Potions Master of Hogwarts works well with Madam Pomfrey.

Grading papers was not nearly as bad as Severus had expected it to be. Certainly it was not the most interesting part of his job. It did, however, pass the time and give him something to do. Indeed this part of the job was a nice break from much of the fieldwork he had to do. Unfortunately it was not a terribly long break, merely a temporary diversion.

Today he was grading essays from his fourth year student; he had assigned them each 14 inches of parchment which he did not consider to be terribly unreasonable. Apparently his students did not feel the same about this. Of the 30 essays he had graded so far there were only two that met the requirement in length. He would have to make the requirements clear to the students during the next class period. As this was only the first paper he had assigned he decided that he would still read the papers rather than not giving them credit at all. After this things would be a bit different, papers not meeting the length requirement would be automatic failures.

His predecessor had been rather soft when it came to enforcing rules, this was why his students were so far behind where they should have been at this point. There would be no Slug Club in his classroom, all students would be graded based on the work they presented. His classroom would be different than that. He would do whatever it took to bring his students up to par, even if it meant being completely insufferable at times.

Severus was interrupted suddenly by the appearance of his house elf, Abner, in his office. "Hello Master Snape, Abner has a message for Master from Professor Dumbledore." The little elf squeaked.

"You may deliver the message." Severus replied

"Professor Dumbledore says you is to come to his office now. He says he is wanting to speak with Master Snape." Abner said. "You is to come right away."

"Thank you Abner, please tell the headmaster that I am on my way." Severus said smiling at the little elf.

"It is Abner's pleasure." the little elf said before bowing and disappearing with a pop.

Severus quickly got up from his chair and made sure that the remaining papers on his desk were in neat and orderly piles. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was clutter. As a potions master he had to be meticulous in his trade, this particular trait carried over to his life outside of work as well. On his way out the door he grabbed his cloak. He needed to gather some potions ingredients from the forest, he could do that after meeting with the Headmaster.

It was not a terribly long walk from his office in the dungeons to the Headmaster's office if you knew the right passageways to use. After being back at the school for a few weeks now Severus had found many of the passages he had used as a student, and some he had not even known about before.

Ducking through a tapestry of a King Arthur and his knights Severus found himself face to face with the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. "Peppermint Humbug" he said, and the gargoyle leapt aside revealing the staircase which would take Severus up to the Headmaster's office. Upon reaching the door Severus did not even have to knock before promptly being admitted.

"Welcome Severus." Professor Dumbledore said standing up from his desk and coming over to greet him. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing well Headmaster. I trust everything is well with you?" Severus asked.

"About as well as can be expected." Albus replied curtly. "How do you find the students?"

"With all due respect to my predecessor they are dreadfully behind on their studies. They should be leaps and bounds ahead of where they are now. I'm doing all that I can to get them up to the level they should be at. Even if it means that I will be the strictest professor they have. They will pass, and they will succeed." Severus said with conviction.

"I am glad to hear that you are taking this position seriously Severus, you will be a great asset to both our staff and students here. More of our professors should be of the same mind." Albus said.

This was one of the first compliments Severus had heard from the Headmaster since he had arrived here. He hoped the Headmaster would soon realize that he was sincere in his repentance. As it was he still felt that Albus did not place much, if any, trust in him. Still, this was progress.

"You're probably wondering why I called you here Severus, so I shall get straight to the point." Albus said. " I would like for you to meet with Madam Pomfrey today. I believe that she is in need of some potions, and since the two of you will be working concurrently I believe that now is as good a time as any for you to begin that working relationship."

"As you wish Headmaster. Will that be all?"

"Not quite Severus." he replied. "Tonight there will be a meeting of the Order. You will not be attending this meeting as I am not quite ready to introduce you to the Order. However I will be using some of the information you supplied me with from your last meeting death eater meeting."

"Headmaster, if I may. I would prefer you not refer to them as my meetings. At this point this is a group that I am loathe to associate myself with, the thought of truly being one of them sickens me." Severus interjected.

"Indeed Severus? Not so long ago you considered yourself one of them, need I remind you that you betrayed some very valuable information to Voldemort in just these few months past? Information that put the Potters in danger, that put Lily in danger." Albus said

His words reopened wounds that had not yet begun to set properly. "I am well aware of my past sins Headmaster, and I regret them deeply with every fiber of my being. I regret anything that I have ever done to endanger anyone's life. I will do everything in my power to see the Dark Lord fall, and to make amends for my past choices." Severus replied forcefully.

"I'm glad to hear it Severus. Let us hope that you truly mean what you have said." Albus said giving Severus an appraising look.

"I mean every word of it Headmaster."

"We shall see Severus, only time will tell." Albus replied carefully. "Getting back to our previous discussion I would insist that while I am away with the Order tonight that you please keep a record of anything that might happen in my absence. Anything that you find worth reporting that happens here should be written down. If by any chance you happen to be summoned during this time you will go to the meeting and you will immediately report to me on your return."

"Shall I owl you if I am summoned, or send a message with Abner?" Severus asked.

"Please do. Send Abner with a note if this happens." Albus replied.

"If I somehow return before you do Headmaster?"

"Return to your rooms and I shall summon you the next morning." Albus said. "Do you have any more questions?"

"None that I can think of Headmaster." Severus replied.

"Good. I expect this alliance between Poppy and yourself will prove to be invaluable, especially once we really get into the school year. "

"I would hope for nothing less." Severus said.

"I'm glad to hear it. That will be all then. Good evening Professor Snape."

"Good evening." Severus replied with a slight bow of his head before retreating from the room.

The Headmaster's words had cut him deeply this evening. He knew right there and then that he would have to do everything he could to change the Headmaster's opinion of him and convince him that he truly was who he had he was. His resolution became stronger as he walked through the hallways and corridors to the hospital wing.

As he was about to go inside he found himself face to face with none other than Minerva. Since they had started meeting more frequently for games of chess and Exploding Snap, which Minerva was as it turns out, rather dreadful at, they seemed to be seeing one another around the school more often. Severus would be lying if he said he did not enjoy this.

"Is something ailing you?" Minerva asked gesturing to the hospital wing before them.

"No, not at all." Severus replied. "The Headmaster has asked that I meet with Poppy this evening. He wants us to work together on potions and remedies for different illnesses that might affect the students and staff throughout the year."

"I'm glad to hear that the two of you will be working together. This should prove to be an invaluable alliance." Minerva said smiling. "Even better than when Horace was working here. He always seemed a bit more concerned with flirting with Poppy, than actually working on creating potions."

"I can safely assure you that will not be a problem. I am meeting with Poppy to work, and that is all." Severus replied.

"I am glad to hear it, and I am sure Poppy would be too. Although she might miss some of the compliments from Horace." Minerva said.

"I shall be sure to compliment Poppy as I see fit, I assure you. We cannot have her feeling too downtrodden on account of my presence." Severus said with a smirk.

"Just don't overdo the charm."

"As you wish." Severus said with a bow of his head.

"Good. I'll let you get back to your work then. Don't talk Poppy's ear off" Minerva said smiling.

"There is very little chance of that." Severus said looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're right, if anything it will be Poppy doing all of the talking." Minerva replied.

"Indeed." Severus said in reply.

"I've kept you too long, I'm running late for an appointment myself. I enjoyed this conversation. I'll see you tomorrow evening in my office then?"

"Yes, I believe that was what we had agreed upon."

"Good, I'll have the chessboard set up."

"I look forward to it."

After another goodbye the two parted ways, Minerva going in the direction of the clocktower, and Severus opening the doors to the hospital wing.


	10. Clouded Judgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes a shock can induce feelings and beliefs that one never before possessed. Sometimes we are more apt to judge a person based on how we choose to see a person rather than how they actually are. Sometimes these judgements can fracture a friendship.

"Checkmate." Minerva said triumphantly. She had trapped Albus' king in record time. This was the third game of chess they had played this evening and the first game she had won.

"It seems as if you have bested me my dear girl." Albus replied amusedly. "Can I interest you in one more game tonight?"

"Certainly." Minerva replied cheerfully. "Only one more though I think. I need to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight."

"Indeed Minerva?" Albus asked with a smile. "What happens if you win this game and we are all tied up? Certainly we will have to find some way of determining a champion."

"In the off chance that I do win this next game I will agree to stay and play one more. However since that is almost certainly out of the question I remain unconcerned." Minerva replied.

"We'll see as the game progresses." Albus said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Besides we have had to postpone our chess games for weeks."

Albus did have a point. After almost three weeks back at school Minerva finally had a chance to spend an evening with the Headmaster. He had postponed this evening, and this chess game several times. Therefore she was very surprised when her house elf had brought the invitation to play chess to her rooms after classes had ended.

Luckily she and Severus did not already have plans for the evening so she was free to attend this, and she was glad of it. Truth be told she was enjoying her new found friendship with the potions master very much, she didn't want to compromise it by having to cancel a meeting. Having someone her own age at the castle was wonderful, especially someone she could relate to so well.

"What are you thinking about Minerva?" Albus asked interrupting Minerva's musings.

"What do you mean?" Minerva asked with a start.

"You must be deep in thought about something Minerva. I asked you twice if you would like some tea and you did not answer me." Albus replied.

"I'm sorry Albus, I guess I was in another place for a moment." She said hastily. "Tea would be lovely."

Albus summoned a steaming tea kettle and a set of cups and saucers from the kitchen. "Now tell me Minerva, what exactly is on your mind right now? I know we haven't had much of a chance to talk since you have been back for the year and I regret that." Albus said as he was pouring tea into their two cups.

"It's quite alright Albus, I assure you. I have been finding ways to keep myself occupied." Minerva replied with a smile. "In fact that was what I was just thinking about."

"Please tell me your means of entertaining yourself do not merely consist of grading papers and correcting articles in Transfiguration Today. You need to be more social, from all accounts I have heard you have not been spending much time in the staff room with the other professors." Albus said

"I promise you that is not the case Albus, although I do not mind grading and I do enjoy correcting articles. As it so happens I have made a new friend amongst the staff. While it is true I am not often in the staff room, that does not mean I spend all of my time holed up in my rooms."

"I wonder who this new friend of yours might be." Albus said curiously. "Is it Professor Vector, or Sinistra. Perhaps our divination teacher, Sibyl."

"Goodness no!" Minerva replied quickly. "While I am sure Sibyl is quite friendly I do not think that we would be the most compatible as friends. While I enjoy the company of both Professor Vector and Professor Sinistra we have vastly different interests. I am not one to go gazing at stars all evening, nor am I terribly interested in discerning the future."

"Then I am at a loss as to who this mysterious new friend of yours could be." Albus replied. "Would you be so kind as to clue me in? I am very interested to hear about it."

"The new potions master, Severus Snape." Minerva replied with a smile.

"Really Minerva?" Albus asked somewhat shocked. obviously he had not been expecting this turn of events. "May I ask, pray tell, how this friendship came about?"

"I was looking for books in the library one evening and Severus was there as well. We started talking and realized that we had many common interests." Minerva replied. "It's not such an uncommon way of making friends."

"Not at all. What exactly do the two of you have in common? He is a Slytherin and you are a Gryffindor after all. Generally friendships do not form between rival houses." Albus exclaimed.

"Mostly we just play chess together." Minerva replied. "We are well matched in the game. I think we both find it a welcome relief from the stress of a week of teaching."

"Indeed, and is this all the two of you do?" Albus asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Occasionally we play other games such as Exploding Snap and Gobstones." Minerva replied wondering why Albus was giving her the third degree.

"I see." Albus replied curtly.

"Why are you so curious about this? I thought that you wanted me to be more social, to make friends." Minerva asked.

"I do want you to make friends Minerva, I am only concerned for your well-being." Albus replied. "Which is why I must caution you on this friendship you have started with our new potions master."

"Why do you feel that you must caution me on this Albus?" Minerva asked. She could not understand what exactly it was that the Headmaster was getting at. She had made a new friend, there was nothing wrong with that.

"I merely think that you should be careful about the people you make friends with, that is all." Albus replied. "Severus may not be the best of choices."

"I'm not sure what you mean." Minerva said. "Could you please explain your reasoning to me?"

"The two of you come from vastly different backgrounds. As I said before he is a Slytherin and you are a Gryffindor. Up until this point the two of you have lived vastly different lives. As it stands the two of you are still worlds apart in many ways." Albus said by way of explanation.

"What you have just told me does not make any sense Albus. You have always preached that we should overcome house boundaries and rivalries. That we should forge change and accept people who are different from us, yet you are telling me that I should not be friends with Severus simply because he is from a different house, and we have different backgrounds?" Minerva asked steadily. She was doing what she could to keep her temper in check.

"I would prefer you find other company Minerva. If not for the reasons above than for my personal opinion. The decision is yours, but I ask that you would trust my judgement on this issue." Albus replied coolly.

"I will take what you have said into consideration, then based on what I know and and have experienced I shall make my decision." Minerva answered him. "It is my decision to make, and it will be made as I like."

"Very well." Albus replied. "Shall we begin our game of chess then?"

"I do not think I am up to it tonight Albus, I think I should be getting back to my rooms. It is rather late and I do have to get up early in the morning to prepare for my first class." Minerva said curtly.

"If that is how you feel we can resume at another time." Albus replied giving Minerva a quick hug as she got up to leave.

"Perhaps within the next week or so?" Minerva replied.

"I would enjoy that very much." Albus said.

"Goodnight Albus." Minerva said as she left his office.

"Goodnight Minerva." he replied.

Once Minerva had left Albus' office she found herself taking a deep breath. It had been difficult for her to control her temper throughout their conversation. She found Albus' take on her friendship with Severus to be absolutely ridiculous. It was not for him to decide who she could and could not be friends with. The arguments he made were not even logical, they did not fit into the personality of the man she had known as a student, or as a professor.

As she walked down the hallways to her rooms she could not help but wonder if Albus had other reasons for opposing her friendship with Severus. Coming from Albus she knew that they must be good reasons, but Severus had not given her reason to doubt their friendship or to question her choice of friends.

She would have to sleep on it. The two were scheduled to have a chess game the next afternoon. Both of them had an early end to their classes on Friday afternoons and they had taken to meeting for tea and chess on those afternoons. She couldn't imagine any reason that the two of them could not be friends. If anything Albus' questioning had only served to strengthen her good opinion of Severus. With these thoughts Minerva retired to her chambers for the evening.

The next day had come quickly enough, and Minerva's classes had gone rather smoothly. Before she knew it they were over and she was setting out a tea tray in her office and putting the chess board on the table. The more she thought about the previous night's conversation the more she was convinced that Albus must have been confused, or at least his judgement must have been somewhat clouded.

Severus arrived promptly at 4:00 as he had promised he would. Ever since her conversation with Albus the evening before Minerva was determined to prove that he was wrong about Severus. Whether she wanted to prove this to herself or to Albus she was not entirely certain. She terribly hoped it was for the latter, and not the former.

"Good afternoon Minerva." Severus said. "I trust that I am not late."

"Not at all Severus, you are right on time as usual.

"Excellent." he replied. "I hope you are well Minerva."

"Quite well I assure you. Thank you." Minerva said. "Won't you come in?"

"Thank you Minerva." he said kindly as she ushered him into her office. Lately they had taken to meeting in one another's offices because it was less strict than the library. They could eat and drink here as well, and there was no one there to shush them.

"How has your week been Severus?" Minerva asked as the two of them sat down to chess.

"Trying, but things are looking up now." he replied with a smile as he made his first move.

"A bold choice don't you think?" Minerva asked indicating Severus having his knight take the first move.

"Sometimes that is the best way." Severus replied. "We cannot always play it safe by moving a pawn first."

"If you are referring to my strategy at chess Severus, I prefer to think of it as cautious."

"Caution can make you foolish if you heed it too closely."

"Haste makes waste my friend."

"Ah, but he who hesitates is lost." he said as he captured Minerva's Bishop.

"That was uncalled for." Minerva exclaimed at the loss of her Bishop.

"I will take that as a point for bold new moves." Severus replied with a smirk.

"We shall see." Minerva replied mischievously before capturing Severus' knight with her rook.

"Of all the things."

You could have been more prepared, traditionally one should be more guarded in their games."

"Perhaps, but sometimes a little bit of risk pays off, and the gains are greater than the losses." Severus said maneuvering one of his pieces.

"Every once in awhile that might be true, but if you can utilize all of the pieces you have then your chances are much greater." Minerva said smiling and moving her queen. "Check."

"Sometimes all you need are a few good men, or women." Severus replied moving his king.

"In this case though, it would seem that I have the upper hand." Minerva replied moving her queen again.

"Indeed?" Severus asked moving his king again.

"It would seem that in this case I will triumph."

"Things are not always as they seem." Severus replied making a move. "Checkmate."

"I don't believe it." Minerva said surprised. "By all accounts I had you trapped. I should have had the game in a matter of moves. You baited me."

"Indeed." Severus said in reply

"Albus would never have done anything like that in our chess matches." Minerva replied sullenly.

"The headmaster and I are not the same person Minerva, we are vastly different people." Severus replied.

"Perhaps, but perhaps the two of you are more similar than you think."

"That has yet to be proven." Severus replied.

"It matters not." Minerva said standing up and walking over to her desk. She leaned forward and grabbed a tray of tea and biscuits from it. As she was walking back to the table her foot got caught under a rug on the floor and she fell forward.

Quickly Severus got up and caught her before she hit the floor, but not before the contents of the tray spilled everywhere, the steaming kettle of tea spilling all over his left arm and down his robes.

"Are you alright." He asked Minerva, helping her up and brushing crumbs off of her robes.

"I think so." she replied. "Oh but the tea, your arm must be scalded." Reaching forward she attempted to take a look at it but Severus pulled back.

"I'm fine, I assure you." he replied. "I have endured much worse before."

"You're not fine, there is pain on your face." Minerva replied grabbing his arm again, this time catching him off guard. Before he could stop her she pulled up his sleeve and took out her wand, her intent was to heal whatever burns he might have. His arm was an angry red, blisters were already beginning to form on it. Quickly she cast a charm to prevent the damage from spreading further. It would not mend the injury, but he would not scar.

"I suppose you have some salve you can put on this?" she asked him, still examining the burn marks on his arm.

"Indeed, perhaps I should go attend to this now." he replied attempting to break free from her grasp.

"I want to make sure that this charm has worked first, if you'll just wait a, oh..." Minerva said spotting something she had not seen previously. There was a mark on is arm, a tattoo of some sort. She examined it a bit more closely until she realized what it was.

"The dark mark!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

Taking advantage of Minerva's surprise he removed his arm from her grasp and quickly pulled his sleeve down over it; covering up the dreaded mark. Minerva found that she was thankful that he did.

It took her a few moments to completely process what she had seen, it didn't equate to her. When realization hit her she couldn't stop herself. "You're a Death Eater." she said looking at him in a whole new light. she couldn't believe that she had made friends with one of them. "I can't believe it."

"What can't you believe Professor McGonagall?" Severus asked, his voice deathly quiet. "That you have deigned to spend time in my company and my presence?"

"Had I only known about this..." She started

"Had you only known what? That I was a Death Eater?" Severus spat. "You would not have associated with me?"

"It certainly changes a lot." Minerva replied hotly.

"It does not make me any different than who I was to you five minutes ago." Severus said darkly. "A mark on my forearm becomes visible and everything changes."

"You have deceived me." Minerva replied. "That in itself changes everything."

"In what ways have I deceived you?" Severus asked coldly.

"Your mannerisms, how you treated me." She said indignantly

"I treated you with regard and esteem. Treatment that I believed that you were worthy of you, I am not inhuman." Severus said.

"You never told me what you were." She said. "That is deception enough."

"I do not believe so, I told you exactly who I was. This mark on my arm does not make me a different person."

"I just don't know about all of this." Minerva said pacing for a moment.

"Your attitude was different a few minutes ago."

"I didn't know that you were a Death Eater a few minutes ago." she shot back at him.

He stared at her, unfeeling at the cutting words she threw at him. It bothered her that he had no rebuttal to this, that he didn't even wince when she said those words. He just stood there silently, egging her on it seemed.

"I cannot believe that Albus would have a death eater teaching at this school." Minerva said appalled. "Surely he must have known what you are."

"Obviously." Severus replied suddenly gripping his left arm. "He knew who I was, although I am not entirely convinced he knows who I am now."

"What might that be?" Minerva asked. "A "changed human being" someone who has "reformed.'"

Severus drew himself up to his full height and Minerva backed away slightly. Severus eyes were empty of all of the teasing, joy, and concern that had been there not too long ago. He actually appeared to be rather menacing. It would seem this is how some of his students felt in his presence. She hated to admit it, but she was afraid of this man now. What she had seen on his arm had disgusted her, what she saw now sent a chill down her spine.

 

 

"It does not matter." Severus replied his voice almost a whisper. "I should go, I would hate to force my repulsive company on you any longer." With that he turned and strode towards the door, without looking back he let himself out. Once he was gone Minerva sat down in the chair she had occupied just a few minutes before and sobbed.


	11. A Dangerous Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus attends a Death Eater meeting and ends up with more than he bargained for.

Walking out of Minerva McGonagall's office Severus was not sure if he was more angry or hurt. He had known that people would not be open to the idea of him teaching at the school, that he should not have gotten his hopes up. It had been foolish of him to believe that he would be able to make friends here in the first place. He had brought this entire situation on himself to begin with, he had let his guard down and tried to make a friend.

Although he knew that people would scorn him he hadn't expected this from Minerva, he had thought that she was different than the others. She had been friendly and she had been kind to him from the very beginning. For the first time in years he felt he had made friends with someone he could trust. Minerva had seemed to be a kindred spirit for lack of a better term.

Obviously his assertion had been incorrect. Just like so many others would; she had seen fit to condemn him for his past. Even worse than that she still believed that he was a Death Eater. How he wished he could erase that indelible mark upon his left forearm, but there was nothing he could do about it. What was worse he had been summoned during their meeting. That had been what caused the mark on his arm to show through so strongly and suddenly.

This was something that he needed to put from his mind, he had other things to worry about, it would not do to show up to a meeting in a mood, but at this point he almost could not help it. He would not be late to another meeting, he quickly went to his rooms in the dungeons and grabbed his traveling cloak, then found his way to the Headmaster's office. He was admitted to the room immediately.

"Ah, Severus. I thought I might be seeing you this evening. I presume that you have been summoned?" The Headmaster said upon Severus' entrance into his office.

"Your presumption would be correct Headmaster." Severus replied quickly.

"See to it that you arrive promptly. Do everything that you can to fit in with them, not that it will be difficult for you to delve into your not so distant past. See that you can maintain a position as one of Voldemort's favorites." Albus said.

"If I may inquire Headmaster, why are you telling me these things?" Severus asked. "I am not an imbecile, I think we have been through these conversations before." Perhaps he was crossing the line in speaking to the Headmaster in this manner, but right now he was less than concerned with that.

"I would deem you incapable of the job if indeed you were an imbecile as you put it. I feel the need to reiterate these points because you have been somewhat distracted these past few weeks. You need to be more focused on the tasks that I have assigned you. This is a dangerous game that you are playing Severus." Albus said looking at him over his spectacles.

"I do not think that there is anyone who understands more than I what a dangerous situation this is that I am in. Do you think I would be so careless with something that could harm the entire wizarding world? Something that could be the difference between life and death for me?" Severus said emphatically.

"Need I remind you about other lives that you have endangered due to your indiscretion in the past?" Albus replied. "A certain redheaded woman and her family come to mind."

"I should be on my way." Severus said, there was no emotion or feeling in his voice.

"I believe that would be best. Report to me immediately once you have returned from this meeting. I will be waiting for you." Albus said returning to his book as Severus exited the room.

As he quickly walked through the halls of the castle to the entrance he kept thinking about the events of the afternoon and evening. He could not seem to remove these things from his mind no matter what he did. As an accomplished Occlumens he should have been able to clear his mind entirely.

Rather than calming down as he should have been able to he found that he was feeling both rather dejected and angry at the same time. Why should what they said to him matter? Why should this bother him? He had no strong connection to this, still he had begun to develop a friendship with Minerva these past few weeks. It was a shame that all of that had to end now. No matter, it should not cause problems, he could survive on his own. She had only served as a distraction from his work, he could spend more time getting things done and doing his work. This was a good thing, it could not be anything other than that.

As much as he tried to convince himself of this it was no good. Something was different about this situation, he had made a friend and because of his past actions he had lost her. Perhaps he was just the villain she had said that he was. Maybe what he was doing now could never make up for what he had done in the past. It was a difficult road that he was walking, he did not have to do as Dumbledore had asked. It would be easy enough to save his own neck if he were to rejoin the Death Eaters.

This idea left almost as soon as it had come, it was absolutely preposterous. Being removed from the influence of the Death Eaters as much as he was now had shown him what a horrible life it had been for him. He was not one of them, and teaching at the school had shown him that. After witnessing the atrocities that they had committed he could not go back to that. Many of his students had been affected by their acts of violence. To know that he had been a member of the group that had caused so much pain and damage killed him inside. Much as he hated to admit it he had begun to care for these students, not that he planned to let on about that to anyone.

Finally he had made it to Hogsmeade. taking a deep breath of fresh air to clear his head he apparated to the appointed place. On arriving he was surprised to see that he was not at Malfoy Manor, or even the outlying grounds. He found himself in a wooded clearing, the Death Eaters had started arranging themselves in circles. The smallest one being in the center and the others branching out from it. This was no ordinary meeting.

Indeed they were out in the open where they could be seen. Meetings were normally kept in secret, out of view from the rest of the world. Now it was as if the Dark Lord was flaunting his powers and the control he seemed to have over their world. This was a dangerous game that was being played, one that Severus was loathe to find himself a part of.

Looking about he found his circle and moved to join it. From what he could surmise the circles worked inwards to the closest followers. The Dark Lord's inner circle was the one in the very center. He took his place in that circle between Lucius and, unfortunately, Bellatrix. This was going to be a long evening.

"Ah, it seems that someone looked at a clock today." Lucius said as Severus joined the circle.

Rather than grace this statement with a reply Severus answered in the form of a glare. He was in no mood to deal with Lucius' prodding. From the look on the older man's face it seemed that his glare had gotten that message across.

"Looks like little Sevie's in a disagreeable mood this evening." Bellatrix said picking up on the exchange between Severus and Lucius. "Maybe it's a little bit past someone's bed time."

Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He did not need Bellatrix taunting him tonight, after all he had already been through this was almost a tipping point. Although she had always made it a point to pick on him because of his age tonight was particularly annoying because of what had happened throughout his day.

"Give it a rest Bellatrix, though I am considerably younger than you are that does not make me a child." Severus replied cooly.

Tonight he did not want to put up with Bellatrix's teasing, he just wanted to get everything over with so this day could be done. To his great surprise she decided not to respond to what he said and just be quiet. She did not even put up a fight.

The Dark Lord decided to make his entrance at this point, right in the middle of their circle. He was looking even more menacing these days, it was hard to believe that this was even possible. The wicked grin on his face just served to make him look more intimidating. Many of the other people who were at this meeting were distracted by this, Bellatrix was absolutely in awe of him. Severus, however would not allow himself to be caught off guard. His mental shields were up and there they would stay.

Something was definitely different about this meeting, Severus could sense that something was going to happen, and this something was going to be big. Across the clearing he could see that there was still one space open in one of the outermost rings. As if on cue there was a pop and a young wizard appeared. Severus recognized him almost immediately, his name was Nelson and he was a relatively new recruit, only seventeen years old fresh out of Hogwarts. Barely even a man. He did not belong here, he had so much potential, that could be put to far better use elsewhere.

Nelson was the last one to arrive; Severus felt himself tense slightly. This boy did not deserve the torture that he was going to receive for being here late. Nobody deserved to be put through the pain that was the Cruciatus Curse. Especially not for such a simple offense as having been just a few minutes late.

Not a minute later the Dark Lord looked over to where Nelson was standing. "It would seem that one of our guests has arrived to the party late. Severus, would you be so kind as to show him the importance of punctuality?" he asked a sneer on his face.

Severus was slightly taken aback by this. "My lord?" He asked surprised.

"It is your chance to participate more within our little organization Severus. It is time that you had a little bit of pleasure." he replied. This was a test of loyalty, he would have to cast this curse on the boy, but still he was hesitant.

Bellatrix seemed to sense this. "Perhaps someone older, someone more mature should handle this." She said snidely. "Someone with better control of their emotions. I will gladly do it for him instead Master, after all I am capable of it."

"It is time for Severus to do this, but perhaps you are right Bellatrix, I know you will do a thorough job of it." He said. "The job is yours."

"No." Severus said impulsively. "I am quite capable of handling this on my own." He knew that in order to maintain his image of loyalty he would have to assimilate the best he could. He would also go easier on the boy than Bellatrix would have.

A pathway cleared before him as people stepped out of the way to give him room. He would have to perform this spell at close proximity. When he was within fifteen feet of the boy he raised his wand in the air. Without allowing himself to think this through anymore he uttered the dreaded curse. "Crucio"he said wand outstretched pointed towards his victim. There was absolute silence for a moment but then tortured screams of agony from the boy as he slowly crumpled up and fell to the ground.

It was unbearable for him to listen to and watch, but he held on for a little while longer, he had to. After what seemed like hours he withdrew the curse and replaced his wand before returning to his place in the circle.

"That was rather quick Severus, I would have thought you would have taken more time with this." The Dark Lord said. He seemed disappointed.

"We have a meeting to get to, I did not want to waste any more time than was necessary. We were obviously summoned here for a reason tonight." Severus replied.

"How considerate of you Severus." He replied. "I did have a very important reason for calling all of you here tonight."

A hush came over the entire gathering of people as he began to speak, they all wanted to hear what it was that their master had said.

"As all of you know our strength has been rising these past few months. The wizarding world is ours for the taking. It is within our very grasp and we shall have it." He paused here as the entire clearing full of people cheered. "As we all know the larger our territory gets to be the more people will be responsible to enforce this new rule."

"Would you like us to recruit more Master?" Bellatrix asked. "Bring in new followers?"

"That is always helpful and I do want us to continue bringing people over to our side as much as possible. However I have something else in mind. One of our missions is to purify the wizarding race. Those of you gathered here tonight have been deemed to be the best we have to offer. Each of you has traits desirable to the wizarding world, traits that if passed on would improve the wizarding race. Which brings me to my point."

"Tonight I am providing you with a chance to prove your loyalty to our cause. We will ensure the survival of our people and the next generation of our loyal supporters. This is voluntary, but those who wish to prove their loyalty will have the opportunity to make an unbreakable vow this night. How you go about fulfilling this is your prerogative, the only requirement is that you will contribute to the next generation of our cause by producing an offspring."

There were some gasps from the crowd. This was a shock to all of them, Severus as well. Of all the things that he had been expecting at a Death Eater meeting this was not one of them. For a moment no one made a move, An unbreakable vow was a very serious thing, especially one dependent on something like this. To make this vow would be to play a very dangerous game indeed.

"Severus my loyal servant," The Dark Lord said after a few minutes breaking the silence. "Perhaps you would like to be the first one to make this oath. Show the others how it is done."

Severus was slightly taken aback, as he quickly searched his brain looking for some feasible excuse not to make this vow his thoughts were interrupted by Bellatrix.

"Severus is not the one to do this my lord, he is too much of a coward, he lacks the stomach to take such a risk. He is unworthy of your attentions." She cooed egging Severus on. "He would not be up to the task."

"You underestimate me," Severus said surprising everyone, himself included, "I will make the vow." He had had enough of Bellatrix's goading this evening, on top of everything else that had occurred today this was a tipping point. She could call him young and inexperienced all she liked, but she had crossed the line. He was many things indeed, but he was not by any means a coward. He did not think of the consequences of this decision, at this point they hardly mattered to him; after all he was expendable.

"Very well, who shall name the vows?" The Dark Lord implored.

Several people started to come forward by they were all overruled by Lucius Malfoy. "I will name the vows." He said authoritatively, silencing the others at once.

The two men walked to the center of the circle, Karkaroff would do the bonding. The two kneeled down facing one another and clasped their right hands together, Karkaroff standing above them with his wand out.

"Per the terms of this agreement, to further the advancement of the wizarding world will you father a child?" Lucius asked stating the first vow.

"I will." Severus replied calmly.

"Will you complete this task within a period of fifteen years from this night?"

"I will."

"Will you guide the child as you see fit to aid in the advancement of the wizarding world?"

"I will." Severus said completing the vow. The imprint left by the spell still fresh on his hand.


	12. A Fine Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a fine line between love and hate.

Minerva hadn't spoken to Severus at all in the week that had passed. After he stormed out of her office on the day of their argument she had done her very best to avoid him. She had taken care to spend more time with other staff members, and she tried to make sure that she was not walking through the halls on her own. Severus would not interrupt a conversation that she was having with someone else, or try to ingratiate himself into a conversation with Pomona or Poppy. As she sat at the head table for breakfast she just wanted to get everything off of her mind. To do this she tried to think of anything that could distract her.

Finally something came to her, there was an Order Meeting tonight, just the thing that Minerva needed to clear her mind from the events of the past week. Somehow she had managed to forget all about it. She had felt awful for awhile after that chess game with Severus had gone awry. That had been what had caused her to forget about this. It still stung that he had not told her what he was. Admittedly she would miss his company, but knowing who he was made it impossible for them to continue things as they were going.

So many of their students had been affected by this war in some way, so many of them had lost family and friends at the hands of the Death Eaters. It was sickening to think that one of her fellow staff members had been in league with those who had committed such atrocities. It had never occurred to her before this moment that he could have been the one responsible for committing some of those atrocities. Severus could very well have been the reason that one of their students had lost a family member.

When he walked into the Great Hall she immediately engaged herself in reading a new article in Transfiguration Today, she desperately hoped that this would allow her to go unnoticed. She cursed herself inwardly for coming down to Breakfast earlier than she normally would today. There were few people there to begin with save for herself,Querinus, and oddly enough Sibyl.

Severus took a seat two places away from where Minerva was. Concentrating on the article she was reading she tried hard to appear engrossed in it. Her concentration was only broken when she realized that someone was talking to her. Looking up from her magazine she saw that it was Filius.

"I'm terribly sorry, I did not see you there." Minerva said to Filius; somewhat embarrassed.

"It's quite alright." Filius said with a chuckle. "That article you are reading must be terribly interesting, I'm sorry to pull you away from it."

"No trouble at all Filius, I assure you. Truth be told I was not really reading the article in the first place, I was rather lost in thought." She replied. "I'm rather glad to have a distraction."

"So long as I am not tearing you away from something frightfully interesting." Filius said raising an eyebrow at her.

"Not at all." Minerva said with a smile.

"In that case, how have you been faring my dear girl?" He asked kindly. "I know that the first few weeks of school can be rather difficult, especially when it is your first full year teaching as a professor."

"It has been somewhat trying, however I am finding that I truly enjoy this kind of work." Minerva said.

"I am glad to hear it, that is excellent indeed." Filius said with a smile. "I think that you will be an excellent teacher."

Minerva blushed and looked down for a moment. "I certainly hope that I will be able to prove you right."

"I do not doubt that you will." Filius said. "Has everything been going well in your classes?"

"Yes, my students seem to be hard workers, I have not had any cause too much trouble yet, save for a few who have unintentionally caused problems casting spells incorrectly. That is only to be expected though I am sure. Our students are not all gifted in the same areas." Minerva said.

"You are right dear girl, I am glad that you have the wisdom to understand this. Often professors are not as understanding as they should be about this sort of thing. The best way to help those who are having a difficult time in your subject is to be understanding of that, play to their strengths. If a student is weak in Transfiguration, but they are particularly strong in a subject such as potions try explaining what you are trying to teach them how you would if you were teaching a potions class, approach it with a different attitude." He said.

"What you are saying makes a lot of sense." Minerva replied. "I think I shall begin implementing that sort of teaching in my classroom. It can only help."

"I presume you already know which students to watch out for?" Filius replied. "In terms of behavioral matters that is."

"I believe I have picked out a few in some of my classes. Matthew Davis, John Michaels, Kenneth Johnson, and possibly Moira Jones come to mind." Minerva said. "Although none of them have caused any trouble in my classes as of yet, I have heard tales from other professors, and they have shown certain signs of being, shall I say, mischief makers?"

"Those were just the students I was thinking of." Filius said. "Mischief makers does seem to be rather a fitting title for those four students. They have been an inseparable group of friends from the time they started school here four years ago. Overall I believe them to be good children, but they happen to get into sticky situations, always pushing the boundaries. They always want to see just how far they can go with something, see just how much they can push a professor. If you know what they are trying to do ahead of time it is easier to prevent that from happening. I do not need to tell you that it is a bad idea to allow students to be in control of the classroom. It is important that you keep clear boundaries in your classes and keep the distinction between teacher and student."

"Naturally I shall keep an eye on them. My classroom has strict rules on behavioral conduct and I shall endeavor to enforce those rules without exception"

"Good, in doing this you will be developing their respect." Filius said. "Now enough on classroom management. How have you been doing? I haven't seen much of you in the staffroom and outside of your classes this year, I hope that everything is okay."

"Things are fine, I assure you." Minerva replied trying to reassure him. "I have just been rather busy these few weeks, trying to get acquainted with all of my new duties, and grading papers."

"That is understandable. All of that is extremely important. I hope you also realize the importance of getting away from your work for a little while as well, you need to have some time to relax. My door is always open if you need someone to talk to, or you just want to have a cup of tea."

"Thank you Filius, I truly am grateful for all of this." Minerva said. "I'll be sure to take you up on that offer sometime in the future."

"In the very near future I hope." Filius said patting her hand. "By the end of this week at the latest."

"You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can find the time in my schedule." Minerva replied with a smile.

"Good I shall look forward to it." Filius said. "I'll have tea and cakes."

"Thank you Filius, I have enjoyed this conversation immensely."

"As have I Minerva, as have I." He replied. "Now I presume that as I do you have to get to class as well."

"Indeed." Minerva replied, looking at her watch and promptly getting up. It was much later than she thought, the conversation with Filius had caused her to lose track of time. If she did not hurry she would be late to her first class.

As Minerva was preparing to leave for the Order meeting there was a knock at her office door. Without looking up from the report she was finishing off she bade whomever it was to enter.

"Good evening Minerva." came an all too familiar voice from across her desk.

Minerva looked up directly into the eyes of the one she had been avoiding for the past week. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly his intentions were. They had no reason to speak to one another, unless of course it had to do with work.

"How may I help you Professor Snape?" Minerva asked with a forced air of civility. "Is it school business? If it is not I am afraid it will have to wait. I am rather busy this evening."

"Then I shall get straight to the point. I am here to return something to you, I believe that you left this magazine in the Great Hall after breakfast this morning." Severus said handing her the magazine.

"Is that all you have to say?" Minerva asked glancing up at him from her work, almost daring him to just walk away.

"No, actually. I came here to apologize." He said somewhat stiffly.

"Get on with it then." She said.

"I should have told you about my past. It is something that I would rather forget myself, if I could go back in time and change it all I would in a heartbeat." Severus said.

"Words aren't going to change anything, I cannot accept this apology. You hid this information from me, the fact of the matter is that you were one of them. A group of people responsible for terrorizing our people, not to mention the muggles. A vicious hateful organization which would stoop to anything to attain power. I am afraid that is not something that I could forgive." Minerva snapped at him.

"You condemn me on those charges?" Severus asked her icily. "Have you not considered that there might be something more to the story?"

"What more could there possibly be? I do not see what redeeming qualities there are for me to find in all of this. I do not believe that there are any possible reasons you could give me for this that would justify your actions. So many innocent people have suffered and died at the hands of this group you chose to associate yourself with. A league of murderers all the same. How do I know some of our students didn't suffer and die at your hands?" Minerva spat at him.

"You are insinuating that I am a murderer." Severus said all of the emotion drained from his voice. "Is that what you think of me? That I am a ruthless killer, scum of the earth, the dirt beneath your feet?"

As he continued to speak his voice became softer and softer until it was almost imperceptible. "You would deign to believe that I did those things, my very presence disgusts you, doesn't it? I have done absolutely nothing to you to deserve this treatment." he said. "I thought you were different than the rest of them, I thought you had a sense of human decency."

"I do which is why I must ask you to vacate this room." Minerva said in a sterner tone than she thought was possible. She somehow managed to keep her face free from all emotion. He was rather frightening in this state of anger, it took quite a bit to stand up to him like this. It was necessary that she stand her ground and not allow him to bully her into listening to him.

"Very well, I shall endeavor to remove myself and all that I am from this space Professor McGonagall." He said making a slight bow to her as he walked towards the door. "It's true what they say, you really are as cold as ice. Farewell Professor."

That last comment he had made cut Minerva far deeper than she was willing to admit even to herself. She would not give Professor Snape the satisfaction of seeing that he had hit his target. Minerva was absolutely shaking after he left, mostly out of anger, but his presence had sent shivers of fear down her spine.

What was he playing at coming here and asking her forgiveness? Of all the people he did not have the right to that. As she gathered up her notes and report for the Order tonight she couldn't help but feel a deep and intense anger towards this man. If she could even give him the dignity of calling him such. The audacity of him thinking that she would be willing to forgive him for what he had done made her blood boil.

She angrily slammed the door to her office shut as she left. If she did not hurry she would be late to this meeting. Oh the nerve of that insufferable man, he caused her to be late to a terribly important meeting. Running now she made it to Albus's office as quickly as she could. There were perks to being one of his favorites, she would be able to apparate with him to the meeting.

Rushing through the door she quickly apologized to Albus for her tardiness but she stopped in her tracks when she was who was there as well. That insufferable man was waiting with Albus, glaring at her.

"Minerva I am glad that you are here now." Albus said breaking the intense silence. "Now we may depart for the Burrow. Forgive my not telling you that we would have a third person this evening. It just seemed easier for us all to go together."

She could not believe what she had just seen and heard. Surely Albus would not take a man such as this into the Order, there must be some other reason that he was going with them. Perhaps he had some business in that town, any excuse would do. Minerva knew better than to question Albus, especially in the presence of someone else. From this point forward she knew it was going to be a long evening.

"Alright you two, we shall be on our way." Albus said taking Minerva and Severus' hands in his. "If you would, take Minerva's hand Severus. She does not bite I assure you."

"The jury is still out on that one Headmaster." Severus said under his breath, but taking her hand anyway. Minerva couldn't help but recoil at his touch initially, but she did her best to be civil, after fixing him with a glare.

"Now now, I cannot have my staff members arguing. I will have none of that at the meeting this evening. Have I made myself clear?" Albus asked the two of them sternly.

"As you wish Headmaster." Severus replied

"Yes Albus." Minerva replied.

"Good." Albus replied. "On the count of three we will depart. One, two, three."

With very little warning they found themselves being pulled away from the ground they were standing on. Although Minerva was used to apparating the sensation it created could still be quite overwhelming when one was not prepared for the journey. Side-along apparition was quite uncomfortable for this reason. Much to her annoyance she found herself gripping Severus' hand tighter as a means of steadying herself.

Once they had arrived down the hill from the house the three remained with their hands entwined until they regained their balance. Minerva was somewhat pleased to see that Severus too looked somewhat green around the gills from that trip. It certainly served him right. As soon as they were situated the two of them followed Albus up the hill to the Weasley residence.

There was absolutely no denying the fact that Severus was going to the meeting as well. This was going to be a long evening, there was no doubt about it. When they made it inside they were greeted by the Weasley's and many of the other members of the Order. If they were shocked by Severus' presence they did not show any sign of it.

The meeting turned out to be shorter than expected, there was very little new information to be shared, rather members of the Order gave brief updates on projects that they were working on. Near the end of the meeting Albus introduced Severus both as a new staff member at Hogwarts and as a new member of the Order.

"I would like to welcome Professor Severus Snape to the Order." Albus said. "Severus is a Potions Master and the newest professor at Hogwarts. In addition to his other duties within the Order he will prepare potions for us when necessary and provide first aid. Severus is extremely skilled at producing antidotes and at counteracting the dark arts among other things. He should prove to be an excellent ally to our cause."

There was a round of applause from the other assembled members and Albus dismissed the meeting. Molly Weasley had made biscuits and tea for everyone, and there was a social gathering afterwards. Naturally everyone was terribly interested in getting acquainted with Severus, save for a few of the people he went to school with.

"It's good to see you Minerva." Molly Weasley said after she had finished serving everyone.

"It's nice to see you too Molly." Minerva replied happy to have some distraction and to see her friend again. "How is everything around here?"

"Busy as usual with the children." she said. "I do love it though."

"How is the baby?" Minerva asked. "She must be a bit of a handful."

"She is absolutely wonderful." Molly said with a smile. "Arthur and I have this down to a science by this point, we know how to take care of things. Besides after Fred and George I can handle anything." Both women got a chuckle out of this.

"You keep telling me that Fred and George are quite a handful but I must admit that I have yet to see this. In my experience they have always been very well behaved." Minerva said.

"That is how they want you to see them. They are good boys, just rather mischievous. You will see when they go to Hogwarts, mark my words." Molly replied. "Speaking of which how is everything going this year? Are you enjoying teaching?"

"I really am quite fond of it. At times it can be trying but it is a satisfying profession. It has only been a few months, but now I cannot imagine myself doing anything else."

"I am glad to hear it." Molly said with a grin. "How is the new professor working out? He looks to be about your age, I am sure the two of you have made fast friends."

Minerva gave Molly a stern look. "I am afraid you are quite mistaken. We are colleagues, and that is where it ends."

"I see." Molly said looking at Minerva quizzically.

"It is simply impossible for you to read anything into this Molly, I know that look. I can save you a lot of trouble right now. I loathe him, and I am quite certain the feeling is mutual from him." Minerva said.

"I'm rather inclined to disagree." Molly replied. "They always say there is a fine line between love and hate."

"In this case there are very well defined lines, a veritable canyon separates us." Minerva said firmly.

"It is likely that the two of you have more in common than you think. There is no reason that the two of you cannot be on friendly terms at some point or other." Molly said with a smile.

Minerva had to roll her eyes at this. "I do not see that happening, we are more likely to be drawing battle lines in the sand."

"If you insist." Molly said with a wink. "You could do far worse though."

"This is not going anywhere." Minerva replied with a sigh.

"Alright." Molly said in mock exasperation. "I can tell when I am not wanted, I work on some of the cleaning." With that she began picking up cups and saucers and removing them to the kitchen.

Minerva looked around trying to discern if Albus was ready to go, She could always leave on her own, but that would involved ending up in Hogsmeade and having to walk back to the castle. It was getting late, she did not want to spend the extra time. Albus must have known what she was thinking because he waved her over to where he and Severus were standing.

Quickly she joined them. "Are the two of you ready to return to the school now?" he asked as Minerva reached them.

"If it is all the same Headmaster I have to run a quick errand before heading back to the school." Severus said.

The two men exchanged a look before Albus replied. "I understand. Come see me in my office upon your return."

"Of course." Severus replied. "Good evening Headmaster. Professor McGonagall." With that he slipped out through the door and was gone.

"Very well Minerva it looks as if it will be just the two of us for this return trip. I know there are questions you want to ask me but please wait until we are back in my office. This is not the place for them." Albus said.

"Of course Albus." Minerva replied taking his proffered arm. The two of them left saying goodbye to their fellow Order members on the way out. At the bottom of the hill they apparated back to the Headmaster's office. On the return trip it took less time for Minerva to regain hr footing. Once she was sure she was alright she let go of Albus's hands and he gestured towards two of the comfortable chairs by the fire.

"You may now proceed with your questions for me." Albus said taking the seat across from her.

"How could you allow Professor Snape to join the Order?" She asked almost immediately after she sat down. "Knowing what he is, what he does?"

"I presume you are referring to the fact that Severus bears the Dark Mark on his arm." Albus replied calmly.

"In a manner of speaking yes, he is a Death Eater." Minerva replied shocked at how calm Albus was right now.

"It is true that he used to belong to that organization." Albus said.

"Used to? How could you even consider allowing someone like that to work in our school? I have difficulty believing that he was able to leave the ranks of the Death Eaters so easily. That he could change a whole set of beliefs."

"You are right, he has not left the Death Eaters in a sense of physically leaving the group, but in body and spirit is not one of them anymore. Dare I say I do not believe that he was ever truly one of them to begin with." Albus said.

"I am not sure what you mean. I know it is not my place to question but how can you trust a man like that? A "defector" to our side."

"I trust Severus implicitly." Albus replied. "While there are some things I believe he still must change about himself, he is a good man inside. Further this man is willing to risk his life on a near constant basis to work as a spy for the Order and collect information for us from within Voldemort's inner circle. With him on our side we have access to information that we never would have had before. What he does is very dangerous, Severus is constantly walking a very fine line between our two sides and he is willing to risk everything to help us."

Minerva was absolutely stunned at this. "How can you be sure that he will remain loyal to our side? How do we know that he is not actually working against our cause?"

"There are some bonds that cannot be broken, he is one of the most loyal people I know. While I cannot disclose his reasons for coming to our side, I can say that they are strong enough to keep him here. Besides he is so good with potions, our students need the discipline that he can provide and the guidance. He will be such an excellent help to Madam Pomfrey."

"Very well Albus. I shall trust your judgement on this. Thank you for clearing this up for me."

"I am happy to assist you Minerva." he replied. "Now you really should be getting some rest." He walked her to the door and the two of them said goodnight.

As Minerva made the journey back to her rooms she couldn't help but think about just how wrong she was about him. She was embarrassed for the things she had said, and she would be eating crow for this now. Somehow she had managed to ruin a perfectly good friendship through her own wild insinuations. She hadn't even listened to him when he had tried to give her an explanation. If Albus trusted him, she knew that she must trust him as well. Somehow she would make things right again.


	13. A Silver Lining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even the worst of evenings can have a silver lining.

It had been over two weeks since he had been forced to make that wretched oath to the Death Eaters. It had not been something that he had to do, and he knew that. It had been optional, he told himself that it was something he had to do so that he was not found out. As much as he tried to convince himself of this he knew that it was not the truth. The decision to make the oath had been his, Bella's taunting had caused him to do something he now deeply regretted.

Inwardly he cursed himself for his desire to prove that he was not a coward. Where had that gotten him now? He was now bound to meet the requirements of the oath, or else he would die. He was very lucky indeed that Lucius had insisted on being the one to say the oath. He had given Severus something of a reprieve, he had fifteen years to meet the requirements of the oath. The third requirement had also been rather ambiguous which helped, this left him to use his best judgement.

The trouble would be in actually carrying out the intent of the oath. There was no way around it, if he wanted to survive past the next fifteen years he would have to father a child. The odds of him making it that long did not seem to be in his favor as it was. If however by some miracle he did survive that long he would have to carry out the oath. It was positively maddening, carrying out the terms of the oath would have a huge impact on his entire life. Not to mention someone else's as well.

As he walked down the street in the chill night air he could not help but wonder what everything would come to. Another problem that faced him was who he would complete this oath with. It would have to be someone that he was comfortable with, and willing to be intimate with. Most importantly it had to be someone that he trusted.

There was one woman he could think of, he had been in a relationship with her for two years now. Narcissa had introduced the two of them at a party a few years ago. Their relationship was not much to speak of, if one could even call it such a thing. They attended galas together, and went out on occasion. Her company was tolerable, and they got on well enough together. They had never been terribly intimate in their time together, although Cassandra had been trying to change that. It was not that Severus did not like her, but he just was not ready to take that step with her, not yet anyway.

Still it was nice to have someone there for him when he needed it. Someone who was willing to put up with him, and not ask too many questions. A person who actually wanted to be with him rather than with another man. She would never be Lily, no one ever could aspire to that, but she was special in her own way.

He was going to pick her up now, they were having dinner with the Malfoys tonight. Severus only hoped that the evening would go well. It had been awhile since he had even seen Cassandra, Cassie, as he often called her. The last time he had actually seen her was before he accepted the job at Hogwarts. By now that had been nearly two months ago. Everything had been so busy he just had not had the time. He hoped that she would understand and forgive him for this lack of attention.

Once he had reached Hogsmeade he apparated to her flat in London, he waited for a moment before going inside and knocking on her door. A striking woman answered the door. She was fairly tall and her long chestnut colored hair was pulled into an elegant twist. The red silk evening dress she wore made her impossible to miss. The stern look on her face made it quite clear that she was not pleased. "You're late Severus." she said glaring at him for a moment.

He had left a bit later than he should have. There had been an incident in the potions classroom which he had to clean up after before leaving. A student had managed to make a cleaning potion explode by adding too much shrivel fig to it. There had been an awful smell and the resulting mess was quite difficult to clean up. The sixth year student should have known better, Severus had given him a detention for the infraction.

"I apologize Cassie, things were rather hectic at the school today. There was an incident in the potions classroom that had to be dealt with before I left." he said trying to gauge her anger and smooth things over.

"That school seems to be taking up all of your time right now." she replied, in a somewhat lighter tone.

"It is my job, I am responsible for making sure that it is done correctly. Things have been rather hectic lately, but they will be calming down in the near future. I've just been settling in and getting acquainted with my duties." He said smoothly. "I promise that soon I will have more time available for things that I enjoy."

"Things such as spending more time with me?" she asked him quizzically.

"Right now that is at the top of my list." Severus replied with a slight smile.

"Good, I am glad we got that settled." she said grasping his hands and pulling him closer to her. "Why don't you come in for awhile and we can catch up on some of the things we have missed in the past few weeks."

"Unfortunately we do not have time for that this evening." Severus replied rather quickly. "We are to dine with Lucius and Narcissa. Already we are almost late. I would hate to keep them waiting."

"I'm sure that they could wait awhile." she said wrapping her arms around his neck. "They could hardly begrudge you a few minutes time."

"As tempting as your offer is, Narcissa does not like to be kept waiting when she has planned something like this. Perhaps next time Cassie." he replied removing her arms from around his neck, and offering her his arm instead.

"You always find some excuse Severus." she said exasperatedly. "Every time I offer, you always find some excuse to get out of it. I think that you are not comfortable in my presence."

"That is utterly preposterous." Severus replied.

"I do not think so." she said indignantly.

"Now is not the time for this discussion." Severus said straightening up. "We must be on our way."

"Alright, but this is not the end of it. We will have this conversation at a later time." she replied.

"As you wish." he said. Grasping her hand in his the two of them apparated to Malfoy Manor. Once they had gotten there they made the quick walk from the gate to the front entranceway.

Lucius and Narcissa greeted them graciously. "We are absolutely thrilled that the two of you were able to come this evening." Narcissa said welcoming the two of them into their house. "It has been far too long since we were all able to get together on social terms. Too much of what has been going on has been business related as of late."

"I quite agree Narcissa, it is wonderful to see you again. Thank you for welcoming Cassandra and I back into your lovely home this evening."

"Yes, thank you very much." Cassandra replied gratefully. "It has been far too long."

"Indeed it has." Lucius replied. "It seems to me that I cannot remember the last time that the two of you were here together."

"It has been quite some time." Cassandra replied shooting Severus a look in a rather obvious manner.

"Now that you are here though, it matters not." said Narcissa quickly. "Let us just enjoy one another's company. That is why we are all here."

"I agree completely." Severus replied. He was glad that Narcissa had stepped in when she had. He did not want to start any sort of conflict. Things were hectic enough as it was he needed tonight to be less stress inducing.

"Very well then." Lucius said. "Let us go into the dining room and have our dinner."

 

The dinner was fairly quiet for the most part, most of the discussion was pleasant, without any reference to what was going on in their world right now. It was a welcome break for Severus. For this moment in time he needed to forget some of the things that were happening and take a break from it all.

Once they had eaten the four of them adjourned to Narcissa's sitting room for tea and conversation. It was at this point that Narcissa decided to bring her young son down to join them. At only a year old he was still rather small, he bore a strong outward resemblance to his parents. He was Narcissa's pride and joy, and she took great delight in presenting him to her friends and visitors. Although Lucius would never admit it, little Draco had him wrapped around his finger.

"Would you like to hold him Severus?" Narcissa asked after fussing over him for a few moments.

"I would love to." Severus said. "It's been awhile since I have seen him."

"That is a situation that we need to rectify Severus." Narcissa said carefully handing him young Draco. "As his godfather you really should be more involved in his life."

"I dare say it would be good for both of you to come and spend more time with Draco." Lucius said. "It will be good practice for the two of you."

"Whatever do you mean?" Cassandra asked curiously.

"I'm sure it is nothing at all Cassandra." Severus replied. "Correct Lucius?" This night had been going far too well for it to take this turn now. He had hoped that Lucius would have the good sense not to bring up this topic.

"Nonsense Severus." Narcissa replied. "This will be excellent for you and Cassandra to practice parenting."

"Why would we need to do anything like that?" Cassandra replied with thinly veiled disgust. "We do not have any children, I am not sure that I ever will."

"I would beg to differ." Lucius replied. "Within the next few years you will have a child. Preferably the sooner the better."

"I should think Severus and I would have some say in this matter." Cassandra replied crossing her arms over her chest.

"You mean he has not told you?" Lucius asked incredulously.

"I do not understand what you are talking about." Cassandra replied confusion clear on her face.

"This is unacceptable, you should know about it by this point in time. Severus why have you not told her about this?" Lucius asked fixing him with a stare.

"I have been terribly busy at the school as of late. As it stands I have not even seen her since before I began working at the school." Severus replied. "I have not yet had the chance to discuss much of anything with Cassandra in awhile."

"I would have thought you would have discussed this with her at the very least." Lucius replied. "Why not now?"

"This is not the time or the place for this conversation Lucius." Severus said firmly.

"It's as good a time as any to have it. If you have not already had this discussion with her." the older man replied giving Severus a strong look.

"I will discuss it with her when I am ready to." Severus said trying to maintain an air of civility. He needed to control his emotions more, it would be best if things did not get out of hand.

"The fact that you have told her nothing about this makes me doubt that Severus, this matter is far too important to put off. Your very life hangs in the balance." Lucius replied making it clear that they would indeed be discussing this topic.

"If you do not mind my asking, what is it that you need to tell me?" Cassandra asked sternly, her arms crossed in front of her.

"We can discuss it later Cassandra, this is not the time or the place for this discussion. There is no need to spoil our evening with this conversation." Severus remarked.

"If Severus will not explain what this is about I will." Lucius said.

"Thank you Lucius, I appreciate someone being able to fill me in on what is going on." Cassandra replied glaring over at Severus.

There was nothing he could do to stop it now. Lucius was going to inform her of the vow that he had made. He really should have told her himself. It would have been better that way, she would have had some more time to let the information sink in. Then they would not be faced with this incredibly awkward situation.

"At the last gathering of our organization each of our members was asked to make an oath to prove their loyalty." Lucius said. "Severus was the first person asked to make this oath and he did."

"Alright, that seems reasonable but how does that involve me? Loyalty oaths are made all of the time. If called upon to make one for the cause I would do so in a heartbeat. I do not see why the two of you have made such a fuss over a simple oath. Unless there is something else to it?" She replied looking between the two men.

"That is where things get to be a little more complicated, you see it is not merely a "simple oath" as it were . Rather he made a more concrete commitment." Lucius replied.

"I do not quite grasp what you are saying. Unless he made an unbreakable vow, but he wouldn't. She said strongly. "He could not possibly have done that."

"You underestimate Severus' nerve. He did in fact make an unbreakable vow at that meeting." Lucius replied.

"Is this true Severus?" Cassandra asked incredulously.

"It is the absolute truth." Severus replied.

"How could you do something like that?" she asked him. "You know what happens when you break one of those."

"Of course he knows what happens Cassandra, he is not an imbecile you know." Lucius said. "Although he may have made some rash decisions he knows the consequences of his actions."

"I still cannot believe you did this Severus." Cassandra said.

"I did what I had to do." he replied.

"Although you may not believe it this oath does have its benefits. It will ensure that Severus remains loyal to the cause. You will never have to worry about him changing allegiances."

"I suppose that is one benefit. How exactly does this pertain to me?" Cassandra asked impatiently.

"I was getting to that. You see there were three parts to that oath. The primary condition of the oath being that Severus must father a child." Lucius said.

"If I am following correctly this would mean that logically there would need to be a woman involved as well." She said slowly. "So this is where I come into play."

"Exactly!" Lucius said. "I am glad that you are taking this so well."

"Just wait one moment. This means that we must have a child?" she asked Lucius annoyed. "Does this mean I would have to help raise it and take care of it?"

"That is the intent, yes." Lucius replied.

"Do I get any say in the matter?" she asked. "Maybe I do not want to assist him in this task. I do not want a child right now."

"You do not have to agree." Severus replied. "If you do not want to have any part of this I understand."

"Let's not be too hasty Severus." Lucius said before Cassandra could reply. "There is a period of 15 years given to fulfill the requirements of this vow. Hopefully you will not need that much time, but it is there. You do not have to have a child now, you can easily wait for a few years."

"The sooner the better though." Narcissa said jumping into the conversation. "The thought of losing Severus to this vow is utterly maddening. Besides it might be nice for Draco to have a new playmate."

"Please." Severus pleaded. "This is not a conversation we need to have right now, or a decision that has to be made this very instant. There is time before a decision must be reached."

"We'll discuss this later." Cassandra said cooly.

Curse Lucius for not being able to keep his mouth shut. Severus should have known that he would have brought this up tonight. He and Narcissa were notorious for having to know everybody's business. He would smooth this situation over somehow, although how soon he did not know.

The rest of the evening Severus and Cassandra hardly spoke with one another. Narcissa kept trying to engage them in conversations but it hardly worked at all. Eventually she gave up in her pursuit and allowed them to keep their distance. Severus was relieved when she had finally done this. They took their leave shortly after this and returned to London.

"How dare you make me out to be a fool." Cassandra said rounding on Severus as soon as they had arrived at her flat. "What sort of dinner was that?"

"What do you mean?" he asked her. "In what way have I made you out to be a fool?"

"You know exactly what I mean. The business about that oath, you should have told me about that. I had to find out about it from someone else."

"If anything that makes me out to be the fool." Severus said. "I am the one who made the wretched oath to begin with, it was my decision."

"Yes, what a completely idiotic thing you did, your decision." she replied. "Since when do you have the right to decide that we will have a child? I do not even like children. Why should I have to be saddled with one?"

"The oath does not necessarily pertain to you, the condition was that I father a child and raise it. You do not even have to be involved." Severus said trying to calm her down. Cassandra could have a terrible temper at times.

"So you were planning on finding someone else to fulfill this oath with?" She all but snapped at him. "I'm not good enough for you?"

"That's not it at all, I did not mean it that way." he replied trying to find some way to extricate his foot from his mouth. "I was planning on asking you about this, just not quite yet."

"I do not even want to hear any more about this right now." she said. "I think it is time that you left." With that she went into her apartment and swiftly closed the door behind her.

Tonight had been a disaster, an absolute and utter disaster. When he finally made it back to the castle Severus was not in a terribly pleasant mood. In fact he was rather annoyed, perhaps angry was a better word for it. He should have known that Lucius would have brought up the topic of the oath, he should have expected it. Instead he had passed over the very possibility of it. He could not blame Lucius entirely though. He had been the one to make the oath, and he had been the one to stick his foot in his mouth later on in the evening. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the appearance of a certain Transfiguration professor.

"Severus, I was hoping that I would see you tonight." Minerva began looking at him earnestly. "I wanted to apologize for my actions these past few weeks. I was in the wrong, I condemned for something without listening to what you had to say. I never allowed you a chance to defend yourself."

Severus was in shock for a moment. Minerva was actually apologizing to him. "Thank you for your apology Minerva." he said somewhat stiffly.

"I've missed you." Minerva replied a smile forming on her face. "Can you ever forgive me for being so quick to judge you?"

"Of course I forgive you Minerva." he said. "With my background I could hardly blame you for coming to the conclusions that you had. I've missed you too."

"Could we possibly resume our chess games again?" Minerva asked.

"I should like that very much." Severus replied. "Shall we say my office tomorrow afternoon, around 4:00?"

"I think that can be arranged." Minerva replied.

"Excellent, I shall look forward to it." Severus said.

"It's settled then. I must be on my way now, I have an appointment with Albus and I mustn't be late. I am glad that we were able to have this conversation tonight."

"Would you like me to escort you to his office?" Severus asked her. He suddenly felt a sudden pang now that she was leaving, he wanted to continue talking with her.

"That's alright." she said. "It's not terribly far from here and I do not want to keep you from anything.

"You would not be keeping me from anything, I assure you it would be no trouble." Severus said.

"I will be fine." Minerva replied. "I'll see you tomorrow at 4:00."

Before Severus could even reply she had disappeared down the hallway. When he turned around to head back to his rooms in he dungeons he did not bother to hide the smile that had broken out on his face. It seemed that there really was a silver lining to every cloud. Perhaps tonight had not been such a disaster after all.


	14. A Silent Battle of Wills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stubbornness was a trait both of them shared, along with a mutual aversion to being held captive in the hospital wing.

Walking through the halls in the dead of night could be rather peaceful. It was not often that the passages and corridors of this school were so quiet. It was rather relaxing actually, walking through these hallways so late in the evening. Everything was so serene it was difficult to believe that earlier in the day these halls were packed with students.

Now as she made her rounds through the corridors making sure that there were not students out of bed Minerva finally allowed herself to have some time to think. It had been a long week, although they were only in the second month of the term students were already beginning to get restless. Hopefully next week's Halloween feast would be a good remedy for that. Everyone needed something to lift their spirits, and hopefully that feast would be a good distraction from what was going on in their world.

It was not just the students who were having a trying term. Many of her fellow staff members were beginning to feel the stress of keeping everything going at the school. She could see that it was wearing on everyone. Some mornings it was difficult for her to put on a happy face and teach her students when they were getting news of attacks and casualties everyday. It was all the more difficult when they knew the people. Just last week Minerva had lost a friend from school. He was not someone she had been terribly close with, but he had been a friend nonetheless. They had studied together in school, although he had been a few years ahead of her, and they worked in the same department when she had been at the Ministry. Now she would never be able to do that with him again. She would not even be able to attend his funeral.

As difficult as everything had been for her she felt that she should not complain, many other people had worse to cope with, even some other people on the staff. Just watching Albus on a daily basis she could tell that this war was taking its toll on him. Even watching him, however, was easier than watching Severus. Lately he had been rather haggard looking. He was quite good at concealing this fact, but Minerva spent enough time with him to notice. Perhaps this was because she now had some idea of the stress he must be going through.

Over the past two weeks they had met for a few evenings to play chess and have tea. No matter how exhausted Severus seemed to be he always insisted that they meet, even when Minerva offered to reschedule and let him rest. He had told her that being able to enjoy her company and a game of chess was more restful than going back to his room would be. Although it was selfish of her, she was glad that he had not taken her up on her offer of rescheduling their meetings. She truly enjoyed those quiet evenings and chess games, more than anything though she enjoyed his company.

Although she had other friends amongst the staff Severus was the closest to her in age, and he seemed to understand her the most. Tonight he had missed dinner in the Great Hall; she knew his absence meant that he was on some sort of mission for the Order, more likely than not something that had to do with the Death Eaters. The very thought made her shudder, he was putting his life in danger every time he was with that group of people. If he was discovered it would mean certain death for him. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had no problem killing traitors, even on suspicion. She did not think that she could take losing another friend in this war, especially after she had finally started to get to know him.

As she finished up her rounds and was preparing to go upstairs to her room she heard a thudding sound down on the first floor. It was not too loud, but she felt that it merited some investigation. Her first thought was that Peeves had been the cause of that sound, quickly changing directions she headed down the stairs her wand out in front of her. She looked around but he did not seem to be anywhere in sight. There was no sign of him in the entry hall so she decided to investigate the corridor just to be safe.

The glow from her wand cast an eerie light on everything in the dark corridor. She was about ready to turn back until she saw something in the shadows that was not quite right. Moving closer to it and allowing the light from her wand to shine on that area she realized that the something was a someone. That someone was collapsed in a heap on the floor. Immediately she ran over to see what was wrong, she realized with a start that the person lying on the ground was Severus. When she got to him she found that he was unconscious, there was blood trickling down his forehead and she found that he was paler than normal.

"Severus, Severus." she said urgently shaking him a bit. She hoped that would be enough to wake him.

It took a few moments, but gradually he came to. "Minerva." he said groggily.

"Yes, it's me." she replied gently. You are injured, you need to see Poppy. I can go get her and bring her here."

"No, no please do not." Severus replied trying to sit up. "I can manage."

"You are injured and it is quite possible that you have a concussion. You need to see Poppy." Minerva said emphatically.

"I can tend to myself Minerva, I am not incapable." Severus said. Against all of Minerva's attempts to stop him he managed to pull himself into a sitting position.

"I do not doubt that you are capable, however, in this present condition I do not think that it is advisable."

"There is no need to bother Poppy, I can assure you." Severus said getting to be rather annoyed. "If I go and see her she will fuss over me, and it is likely she will keep me for at least a day. I cannot afford to lose that time." He managed to bring himself to a standing position, but he was still rather shaky on his feet. Minerva promptly stood up and tried to steady him. Severus tried to resist, but he was too exhausted.

"What do you propose to do then?" Minerva asked him matter of factly.

"I will return to my private rooms, I am perfectly capable of tending to my own injuries." He replied. "I have done so many times in the past."

Minerva had to wonder just how often this happened. It seemed so strange to her that he could talk about injuries such as the ones he now had so nonchalantly. The very thought of what he must go through made her cringe.

"I will help you." she replied, surprising even herself. She knew that she should be taking him to see Poppy tonight, by far that was the best option. On the other hand she understood what he meant, Poppy did have a tendency to worry a little too much over her patients. She could be rather stifling. Minerva shared Severus' aversion to being confined to the hospital wing.

"I could not ask you to do that." Severus protested. "I can do this for myself, I have done it before. Besides I must see the Headmaster this evening."

"What that has to do with anything, I do not know. One thing I do know is that you cannot see him in this state. If I help you, we can get you bandaged up in a shorter period of time therefore allowing you to meet with the Headmaster sooner."

Severus considered this for a moment before finally giving in. "Alright, but you will not breathe a word of this to anyone."

"I believe that is a request I am willing to acquiesce." Minerva replied. "Now, if we want to avoid Peeves and get you to your meeting in a timely fashion we should get you to your rooms."

"Alright." Severus replied, and the two began to make the trek to his rooms. For being injured he was still able to manage walking at a fairly decent clip, albeit leaning on Minerva for support. As they were walking to his rooms Minerva realized that she did not know where they were, she had to rely on his guidance to get to them.

They walked through a few passages and down the stairs into the the dungeons. Minerva shivered a bit at the chill in the air down here. She had never spent much time in the dungeons, the ambiance had never quite appealed to her taste. After going through a few corridors they arrived in one that was lined with portraits. Many of them were full sized, Minerva assumed that one of these probably led to Severus' rooms. She was surprised then when they turned down yet another corridor and ended up near the potions classroom.

"If we were coming this way to begin with, why did we take such a long detour?" Minerva asked him surprised.

"Peeves tends to lurk in this area at this time of night, if we had taken the corridor that comes straight here he would have ambushed us with a terrible racket." Severus replied leading the way down the hall and past the classrooms, until at last they came to a portrait. The portrait was rather nondescript at first glance, but upon taking a deeper look at the painting one could be entranced by it. The painting was of a rather imposing wizard, he was taller than average, and was wearing long emerald robes. He was in a room lined with bookshelves, the table in front of him was covered in potions supplies. A book on the table opened at the center.

"Good evening professor Snape." the portrait said.

"Good evening Professor Edgars." Severus replied.

"If I may ask, who is it that is accompanying you here today?" Professor Edgars asked eyeing Minerva up suspiciously.

"This is Professor McGonagall." Severus replied.

"Is she to be trusted?" he asked looking at her skeptically over his glasses.

"I trust her implicitly." Severus said. "She is here as my guest."

"Indeed?" asked Professor Edgars. "Can I trust that nothing dishonorable will take place this evening?"

"I assure you that my intentions are pure." Severus said.

"It is not you that I worry about." the portrait replied.

Minerva had never imagined that a portrait would accuse her of impropriety and leading people astray. This was utter nonsense. "I can personally promise you that nothing of which you would find dishonorable will occur here this evening. You have my word." Minerva said in answer to the portrait's challenge.

"In any case Professor Edgars I am in a weakened state, as you can see. Nothing would happen."

"I suppose that you may have a point." the portrait said. "Very well, you may both enter, but she will be gone before I return." From the tone of his voice Minerva could tell that this was not a request. The portrait swung aside and the two of them entered the rooms.

Minerva did not know what she was expecting to find in Severus' private quarters, but it was not this, that was for certain. They were a lot more pleasant than she would have thought. Although it was clear that they were still in the dungeons, he had managed to make this sitting room rather comfortable. There was a comfortable looking sofa in front of the fireplace with some assorted chairs to the left and right. A silver and green rug lay on the floor, covering most of the cold stone.

Although the entire room was interesting to see one piece was clearly the focus of it. A black baby grand piano stood in the opposite corner. There were multiple pages of sheet music opened on top of it. To the right of the beautiful instrument there were three large windows which looked out into the lake. These were nearly floor to ceiling and they cast an eerily pretty glow on the instrument. Minerva had no idea that Severus played an instrument, she had never before thought to ask him about it. She made a mental note to bring it up in a conversation when they next met under better circumstances.

"I must apologize for Professor Edgars." Severus said interrupting Minerva's thoughts. "He is not always like this, he just does not know you very well."

"I suppose I will take your word for it. He does seem rather imposing though." Minerva replied.

"Why don't you sit down? I will go find the potions that I need." Severus said gesturing to the sofa in front of the fireplace.

"You should be the one sitting down." Minerva said firmly. "You can tell me where everything is and I will retrieve it."

Severus attempted to get the potions on his own, but Minerva's stern look stopped him in his tracks. "As you wish." he said before finally sitting down on the sofa.

"I am glad we have settled the matter, now where am I to find the necessary potions?" she asked him gently.

"There is a cabinet in the next room. Bring the three from the top shelf, and the salve from the bottom shelf. Please grab some of the cloth bandages as well, you should find them on top of the cabinet."

Minerva did as she was told, everything was just as Severus had explained it. She was back in the sitting room in a few moments, potions and bandages in hand. When she got back to the sofa Severus was barely conscious, he was in no condition to administer first aid for himself. Taking a seat in front of him she opened the salve, and began applying some of it to the gash that was on his forehead.

He winced a bit as she touched the spot, but his eyes remained closed. Taking one of the bandages she gently wrapped it around his head and fastened it together. As she was reaching for the salve again she accidentally bumped his shoulder. He gasped sharply in pain and his eyes opened.

"I'm so sorry." she said quickly. "I did not realize the extent of your injuries."

"It is not your fault. Thank you so much for tending to my injuries." he said.

He tried to cover up the pain he was in, but she could still see it in is face. "I am not finished yet Severus. You still have injuries that need to be tended to, that much is apparent." She said. "Now if you would just remove your shirt."

"That will not be necessary, I can tend to myself." he said sternly.

"This is no time to be stubborn and headstrong." Minerva replied arms crossed over her chest. "Now remove your shirt."

"The injuries are not that bad I can assure you Minerva, just a few slight bruises. I can manage." He said calmly.

"I will hear none of that. This is no time to play the hero." she replied sternly. "Now please, cooperate with me. I am not going anywhere until you allow me to tend to those injuries."

It took a few minutes of them locked in a silent battles of wills before Severus reluctantly gave in to her request. He slowly removed his outer layer of robes and then his shirt. His entire torso was badly bruised. It was a painful sight to behold, but Minerva did not allow herself to be off put by what she saw. She immediately began tending to his injuries being as gentle as she could. Periodically Severus would assist Minerva with which potions to use, but otherwise the two of them were quiet.

When she had finally finished tending to his injuries and bandaging him up Minerva made a kettle of tea. She had always felt that a warm beverage was essential to the healing process. Once he had some of it to drink, and he started to regain some color in his face he thanked Minerva for all she had done that night.

"I should be getting back to my rooms." Minerva said once she had finished her tea. "There is no telling when Professor Edgars will return."

"We need not be ruled by a portrait." Severus replied. "However I should be getting to the headmaster's office. Perhaps we could get together in my office tomorrow afternoon?"

"Indeed, and I will expect an explanation as to what exactly happened to you this evening." she said. "Don't even try to avoid it, or I shall be forced to explain the situation to Poppy."

"You would not do that to me."

"Believe what you will, but I would not risk it."

"You know, you really are a rather exasperating woman at times." Severus replied. "We will see about tomorrow. We will have tea, as to the topic of the conversation, that is to be determined."


	15. Curiosity Killed the Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minerva wants answers from Severus, and she will resort to blackmail to get them if necessary.

"Alright, it is time to answer my question now." Minerva said sitting down to tea with Severus the next day.

That woman was far too curious about things, especially things she did not need to know. One day her curiosity might be her downfall, that was something that he did not want to see happen to anyone, least of all her.

"The situation is fairly self-explanatory Minerva. I was injured." Severus replied calmly. He knew she probably would not accept this as an answer, but he did not want to reveal the entire story. That was information that she did not need to know.

"Severus, I expect a full explanation of what happened to you. The matter certainly does not seem so simple as an injury." She said giving him what he came to acknowledge as her signature stare. He could imagine that she was quite the formidable professor, most assuredly someone students did not want to cross.

"There is nothing more that you need to know about this situation. For all intents and purposes my injuries are the result of an accident. As you can see I am perfectly fine now, there is no need to worry." Severus said trying to brush things aside.

"I was not born yesterday Severus, your injuries were not the result of a simple accident. Are you going to tell me that you accidentally managed to curse yourself? A slip of the wand and you hit yourself with the cruciatus curse?" She replied. "I would not be able to believe something like that for a second, you are far too skilled a wizard to do anything like that. I want the truth from you."

Severus was silent for a few moments, unsure of just how much he should tell her. He decided to attempt to dissuade her from her quest for answers just one more time. "It was an accident Minerva, that is all I can say right now. Fortunately the injuries were not too debilitating and I am fully recovered once again." He said.

Minerva set down her teacup and saucer, stood up,and walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" Severus asked her standing up as well.

"To the hospital wing." she replied curtly.

"Whatever for, are you ill?" he asked her concerned.

"I am perfectly fine, it is you I am going on behalf of. You are injured and unwell, Poppy will need to give you an examination." she replied. "It should not take too long, she may only keep you in the hospital wing for a day or two."

"What is the meaning of his Minerva?" He asked trying to find some way to keep her talking so she would not carry out this plan.

"Obviously you must be ill and disillusioned with fever if you believe for an instant that I will accept that your injuries are the result of a simple accident. This must be tended to posthaste, now if you will excuse me I must get to the hospital wing." Minerva replied.

"You would not, you have no grounds to do such a thing." Severus replied. "Obviously I am not riddled with fever."

"I have every right Severus. I know you are injured, I saw your wounds." She said. "I know that Poppy would be only too happy to tend to you, especially with an empty hospital wing."

"Minerva, I assure you that I am fine, those injuries no longer bother me. Everything has been taken care of." He replied.

"I know they have been treated, but they have not been taken care of enough. Had I not stumbled upon you last night, and been willing to patch you up these injuries would have been far worse." she said.

"Thank you for that, but I would have been fine on my own. I have patched myself up in the past, and I was fully capable of doing so last night." he said. "I did not ask you for your help."

"Be that as it may, I did provide the help that was completely necessary. As such I believe that I am only doing my duty as a professor at this school by going to Poppy and informing her that a member of the staff is in need of care." she replied. "I would not be able to have a clean conscience if I did not inform her of this pressing issue."

"Fine, do that. Poppy will examine me and find that I am indeed fine, better in fact. I feel excellent." he said taking a step forward. "Go on then."

"You're bluffing." Minerva replied. "There is pain on your face, you might be able to conceal that from most of the staff but I can guarantee that it will not escape the notice of Poppy. I will be on my way now."

"Minerva, don't do this to me. I cannot be confined to the hospital wing, I have so much to do." He pleaded with her.

"I will remain here and I will not tell Poppy about your illnesses, if you tell me what happened to you. Otherwise consider yourself booked in the hospital wing." she said willing him to cross her.

Severus sighed. "Curiosity killed the cat Minerva."

"Indeed Severus." she replied. "I assume we have reached an agreement then?"

"Please, have a seat." Severus said gesturing to the chair across from him."

"Thank you." she replied sitting down again.

"Before I give you the explanation I just want to make a few things clear." Severus said. "Firstly, this discussion will not leave this room. Second, I cannot tell you everything, some details must be left out. This is for both of our safety. Certain things could be potentially dangerous to both of us. Do you agree to those terms?"

"I can accept your terms." Minerva replied. "Please continue."

"I was not lying when I told you that these injuries were the result of an accident, perhaps misunderstanding would be a better term to use. To explain things more clearly I was on assignment last night. I was called to a gathering last evening with the death eaters. It started out fairly peacefully, this one was just a social gathering with some of the prominent families. Those are normally far less stressful as the risk of getting killed at one of those is slightly lower than at other events."

"What do you mean the risk of getting killed is only slightly lower? What on earth could happen at a social gathering?" she asked curiously.

"I won't go into too much detail, but amongst the death eaters there can be a great deal of infighting. Mostly this stems from jealousy, but there are other reasons as well. Occasionally a duel will occur, or someone's food will be poisoned. If one is prepared and takes the proper precautions they should be fine." He said.

"What possesses anyone to go to one of these events?" she asked curiously.

"The possibility of moving up a few rungs on the social ladder, perhaps moving to an inner circle within the organization. There is also the risk of losing favor if you fail to attend an event." Severus replied. "All in all, you are probably better off if you do attend the events."

"Alright, I shall take your word for it. Please continue with your explanation."

"As I was saying the event itself was rather peaceful, until the Aurors showed up in a surprise raid." Severus replied. "Some of the families are just a bit too open about their loyalties, and they do not posses terribly good security. As the muggle saying goes loose lips sink ships."

"Once the Aurors arrived everything was thrown into utter chaos. Spells and curses were being bandied about on all sides of the event. To maintain my cover I had to fight on the side of the death eaters, I did my best to avoid harming any of the Aurors." He said.

"Did you get caught up in the crossfire? Did one of the Death Eaters notice and attack you?" she asked.

"No, one of the Aurors recognized me and seemed to make quite the deliberate attack. He was quite aggressive with spells, and at one point he even resorted to attacking with his fists. I used some spells purely for defensive purposes, but there was not much I could do. I did not want to harm any of the Aurors, but I did not want my true loyalties to be revealed. It was such utter madness last night. As soon as I could get free I managed to leave the premises and apparate back to Hogsmeade, from there I made my way back to the castle. You know the rest of the story."

"This was done to you by an Auror?" Minerva asked in amazement. "I thought this would have been from the death eaters."

"That is not an unlikely scenario, however yes, this time it was an auror." Severus replied.

"You said you were injured in an accident, from your explanation of the events, and the injuries you sustained I find that impossible to believe." She said. "You were attacked deliberately."

"I consider it to be in the realm of an accident as they were unaware of which side I was on. Given the situation they had every right to act as they did." Severus replied

"I cannot say that I agree with that." Minerva replied.

"That is only because you know more than they do." he replied. "You would not say the same if it was someone else. I know you would want a criminal to be punished. I cannot say I would disagree with that."

"There is no excuse for the way you were treated though." she replied looking him squarely in the eyes. "You only cast defensive spells, no curses."

"You are so quick to defend me Minerva, how can you be so certain that I am to be trusted?" he asked her seriously. "I remember but a few weeks ago you were not even willing to speak with me. Come to think of it, you never told me what it was that brought about this change of heart."

"Didn't I?" she asked him. "It is not that important."

"I would like to know though, why don't you humor me?" he asked her.

"Very well, I suppose I just came to realize that if Albus was was willing to hire you, that he must trust you. Obviously he must have known about your previous affiliations, he always seems to know everything that is going on around here, both with members of the staff, and with the students." She said. "If he found you to be trustworthy enough to work with our students in the confines of this school, then I should be able to trust you."

"Fair enough." Severus replied. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

"About last night?" she asked. "Just one more thing. Who was it that did this to you? Which Auror was it?"

"That is one question which I cannot answer Minerva, and I hope you can accept that. I will not budge on this issue. " He replied. "No matter how many times you threaten me with trips to the Hospital Wing."

"I can agree with that." she replied. "I do have one more question though, it does pertain to last night, but it has nothing to do with the attack we have been discussing."

"Please, by all means." Severus said, gesturing for her to continue.

"I could not help but notice that you have a lovely piano in your rooms. Do you play?" she asked him.

The question caught him off guard, but he supposed it would not do any harm for him to tell her. It was not as if this needed to be kept a secret. "Yes Minerva, I do play. I have played ever since I was young My mother insisted that from the time I was four I take lessons on the instrument. I continued through my time at Hogwarts working with one of the former professors here. It became a passion of mine, playing can be very soothing when one is under a lot of stress."

"I know the feeling. I had no idea that you played an instrument." she said. "Why did you never tell me about this."

"It never came up in conversation." He replied.

"Could you possibly play for me at some point in time?" she asked him. "I would love to hear it."

"I am not sure whether you want to hear me to size up my playing, or whether you honestly want to hear me play." He said jokingly.

"I am genuinely interested in hearing you play." she replied.

"Perhaps something can be arranged." He said. "Under one condition."

"What might that be?" she asked him.

"You have spent the afternoon asking me questions, why don't you answer a question for me?" he asked her by way of a reply.

"Alright, that sounds reasonable." she replied. "What is it that you would like to know?"

"I am curious as to whether or not you really would have gone to Poppy and told her everything." Severus asked. "Where you bluffing, or did you actually intend to go straight find Poppy?"

Minerva had a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I suppose we will never know. It is best to keep some things a mystery, or else they will lose their value." she replied.

"I shall accept that answer. Not least of all because that twinkle in your eye is rather reminiscent of our illustrious Headmaster." he said a half smile on his face. "Perhaps I should heed my own advice on curiosity."

 

"Perhaps, but you have to remember there is a second part to that old saying as well." she replied with a smile. "Curiosity may have killed that cat, but satisfaction brought her back."


	16. An Afternoon of Firsts

Halloween was drawing near and there was palpable excitement in the air at the school. Even in these dark times, nay especially in these dark times it would be a comfort to students to have some sort of distraction. Students and staff members alike looked forward to this event and Minerva was no exception. She was looking forward to the upcoming festivities more than she had been able to look forward to anything in a long time.

It would be a short respite, certainly, but a break from it all nonetheless. This year they would not be having the staff Halloween party for a change, things were far too bad for that in their world right now. They would still be having the feast for the students though, and classes would be shortened as well. She had just been in a meeting with the Headmaster and a few of the other professors about this upcoming event.

Severus had been absent again, it seemed that the further they got into the school year the more and more he was being called away. As much as he tried to keep his absences hidden from the staff and students they were beginning to have an effect. There were even a few times he had to cancel his classes because a substitute could not be found in time. It had gone so far that other staff members had begun making inquiries to the headmaster about his absences.

Albus remained discreet with the details about Severus' particular situation. As far as she had heard he was informing those who asked that he had been been recovering from an illness. Minerva knew that save for herself and the Headmaster nobody else at the school knew about his status as a former death eater and as a spy. If her initial reaction and response were any indication of how the others would react to the situation then she was glad that this information was kept from them. He deserved better than to be judged on his past, let them make their judgements on him as a colleague and friend.

Ever since he had been injured so badly at the hands of aurors a few weeks ago she had taken to checking in on him more outside of their weekly games of chess. Paying him visits in his office, just to see how he was doing and to make sure that he was okay. It was painful to see her friend so exhausted.

While she could not pretend to know all that he was going through she had some understanding of his life as a spy. She too had served as a spy for the Ministry, and subsequently the Order. Unlike Severus however, her duties as a spy did not take up her entire life; as soon as the school year began she was relieved of her duties as a spy. Her experiences had never been quite the scale that his were, but she understood what a sacrifice it was he had to make.

In a way she really wished she could be doing more for the war effort right now. She felt that she could be more useful in the field as a spy than hiding here at the school. While her friend and colleague was risking his life for the safety of their students on a daily basis she was here at the school. Unlike many others in this war she did not have to face imminent danger on a daily basis, and she did not constantly have to fear for her life. It made her feel guilty and almost ashamed of what she was doing.

Even her own brothers were fighting this war, one of them just barely out of Hogwarts himself. They would have never have asked her to fight, she knew that much, but it would have been easier if she could have been doing something. At the Ministry her former colleagues faced danger on a daily basis, many of them were never able to make it home to see their families again. It was not that she did not feel grateful for this job and her safety, but she did feel somewhat useless to the war effort.

Minerva realized that in the time she had spent thinking about her friend's predicament she had been wandering aimlessly around the castle. Although her schedule was fairly open this Saturday she felt that there were probably better things to do than walk around the castle by herself. She settled instead upon going to the library. Maybe some light reading would allow her to take her mind off of all that had been going on.

She was not that far away from her destination, ducking through a few side passageways she was there in just a few minutes. The library had far more people than she had expected to see here on a Saturday afternoon. Students were at tables studying and in the stacks looking for books. It was rather encouraging that they were studying, but she could not help but notice how depressed some of the students felt. It was almost enough to convince her to go back to her rooms.

"Our students are studying willingly, this seems to be a first for them." said a sarcastic voice over her shoulder. "Perhaps we should capture this unprecedented moment on camera."

Minerva spun around to see Severus standing behind her. "What are you doing here?" she asked him perplexed.

"Hello it's nice to see you too." he replied cheekily. "I came from my office, where else would I have come from."

"You were not at the staff meeting this morning." She said perplexed.

"No, I was not present." he agreed.

"Would you care to elaborate?" she asked him

"My, my, always asking question are we?" he asked her good-naturedly. "Well if you must know we could discuss this over tea and out of ear shot. Unless you have other plans this fine Saturday afternoon?"

"Well my schedule is full to bursting, but I think I might just be able to fit you in somewhere." She replied jokingly.

"It is settled then." he replied. "Before we go I did come here with the intent of finding a specific book."

"I was hoping to pick one up as well. We can both meet back here in a few minutes." She said.

The two of them parted ways both intent on finding their reading materials. Minerva quickly found her book in the stacks. She had decided on a volume on the history of magic. Anything to distract her from the war raging on in their world. She quickly made her way back to the desk and checked out her book before waiting for Severus again. Five minutes went by, and then ten. Minerva began to wonder if he had forgotten about her when he finally found his way out of the stacks without a book.

"I apologize for keeping you so long Minerva. It would seem that the book I was looking for is unavailable at the present time. I was hoping to be able to use it to get a head start on a project for next week for my upper level students. Now I might need to run up to Flourish and Blotts to get a copy." He said somewhat dejectedly.

"That's rather unfortunate. What was the book about?" she asked him curiously.

"It was a book about transfiguration and potion making by Emric Switch." Severus replied.

"Transforming the Elixir?" Minerva asked automatically.

"Yes, that's the title! Do you know the book?" He asked surprised.

"Actually yes I do." she replied. "In fact I believe I happen to have a copy of that book."

"Could I possibly borrow your copy of it?" he asked her hopefully. "I promise I will get it back to you as soon as possible."

"Perhaps I can be persuaded, you do make rather a convincing argument." she replied. we can go and get it now." she replied.

The two of them headed off in the direction of Minerva's office to search for the volume. The walk was not a long one and they were there within a matter of minutes. Severus waited patiently as Minerva sifted through the many books on her shelves searching for the correct title, and then through the drawers in her desk.

"Is something the matter?" Severus asked after a few minutes of searching.

"I cannot seem to find the book, it should be here somewhere." she replied perplexed.

"Did you loan it out to someone already?" he asked her.

"No, not that I can recall." she said. Suddenly it came to her. "That's right, that book is in my rooms upstairs. I was using it recently for a potion."

"I did not know that you were so advanced in your potion making skills." Severus said genuinely impressed. "We should compare methods one of these days. I would be very interested in seeing your work."

"Goodness no, I do not feel the need to embarrass myself in front of an expert." she replied.

"I cannot believe that you could possibly embarrass yourself. I am sure that you are very accomplished in potion brewing." he said quite seriously.

"I believe that you said the same thing about my Exploding Snap skills and look at how that turned out." she said.

Severus put his hands up in mock defeat. "Whatever you think is best. "

"Indeed, well shall we go get the book now?" she asked.

"Certainly." he replied. "Lead the way."

Once they had left her office, and she had locked the door behind them, they started off towards her rooms. Minerva realized with a start that she had never had any visitors to her rooms before save Albus when he came to welcome her to the school. She had not even thought to tidy up the papers she had been grading the past few days.

"Good afternoon Professor." Sir Stephen greeted her when the two of them were outside of the entrance to her rooms.

"Good afternoon Sir Stephen." Minerva replied.

"Would you care to introduce me to your companion?" he asked her kindly.

"Certainly." she replied. "Sir Stephen this is my friend and colleague Professor Severus Snape. He is our potions master."

"Pleased to meet you." Sir Stephen said removing his trip cornered hat with a flourish.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance Sir Stephen." Severus said bowing to the portrait in return.

"Professor McGonagall what is Professor Snape's business here this afternoon?" Sir Stephen asked.

"I have a book I was going to loan him, and then we were planning on having tea." she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I am tasked with protecting you It is my duty to see that you are treated with respect and that no harm comes to you." he said carefully addressing the potions master in particular. "I do not want anyone to take advantage of you in any way. Do I make myself clear?"

Minerva was rendered utterly speechless. She had not expected Sir Stephen's little speech. Surely he knew that Severus would never harm her? As another member of the staff he should have known that Professor Dumbledore would not have hired him if he were a threat of anyone in the castle. She was about to respond to Sir Stephen's statement but Severus beat her to it.

"I respect your job and your duty as guardian of these chambers and their occupant. I will honor all of your requests. I assure you that my intentions are completely pure." Severus said addressing the portrait. "You have my word."

"Very well, you may enter." Sir Stephen said. with a click the portrait swung aside to reveal the entrance to her rooms.

"I am so sorry, I really had no idea Sir Stephen was going to put you through that lecture." Minerva said to Severus once they were in her sitting room.

"It is fine Minerva." Severus replied. "All of the portraits who guard a particular set of rooms are supposed to look out for the occupant's well being. Sir Stephen does seem to be particularly protective of you though. He must really like you."

"I was unaware of this. Is this why Professor Edgars questioned us when I visited your rooms?" Minerva asked him.

"To some extent, however Professor Edgars does not seem to be very trusting. It took him long enough to get used to me, let alone somebody else." Severus replied.

"I can only imagine." she commented. "Please have a seat if you would like, I will go and get the book for you."

"Thank you." Severus said as she headed off into her little library. "You have excellent taste. Everything in here fits together so well. Are you particularly fond of the color green?"

Minerva quickly found the book and returned to her sitting room. "I cannot take any of the credit for the decor in my rooms. When I first came here I chose the option of allowing the room to decide for me. This is what I ended up with. I have tried to change it several times, but to no avail. It seems as if this is how it will be."

"You do not give yourself enough credit Minerva. When the room furnishes itself it does it in such a way that it will fit with your preferences and personality. This space is entirely you. Why do you wish to change it?" he asked curiously.

"This color green, I have never been particularly comfortable with it." she said a little bit uneasily.

"Would this have to do with the fact that green is one of the two colors of my house?" Severus asked her teasingly.

"I had not though of that very much, but now that you mention it." she said in mock consideration. "It is mostly the fact that deep greens have long been associated with, well the darker sides of magic."

"That is old folklore and it need not be followed. Green represents so many other things as well. It is the color or life and growth, renewal, and safety. Among many people the color itself is said to have relaxing and healing qualities. Aside from all of that green suits you very well, it brings out your eyes." Severus said winking at her.

Minerva could not help blushing a bit at what he had said. "I suppose I can give it another chance. Since you have given everything such a high recommendation. Here is the book by the way." She said handing him the thick volume.

"Thank you so much! I don't know how I may repay you for this." he said leafing through the book quickly. "This will be terribly helpful for the project I am assigning my students."

"No repayment necessary." Minerva said. "I am happy to help you out whenever you need it."

"Likewise." Severus replied. "If you ever need anything please let me know."

Minerva went over to the kitchen and put a kettle on for their tea. As long as they were in her rooms it seemed logical that they just have tea there rather than going back to one of their offices. When the tea was finished the two sat down opposite one another in the sitting room.

"I believe you were going to explain your absence from this morning's meeting before we got distracted by all of the other stuff. Correct?" Minerva asked Severus.

"You are quite right. There was a meeting rather late last evening. I did not arrive back here until around 2:00 this morning. It was 4:00 when my meeting with the Headmaster concluded, and given the hour he excused me from attending this morning's meeting so that I might have some rest."

"I hope things were not too serious last evening." she said concerned for him.

"No more so than usual. I expect tonight might be rather busy as well. It seems that a social gathering has been planned. The Headmaster has promised to tell me whether or not he wishes me to attend sometime before this evening. " Severus explained wearily. "I cannot tell you how much I look forward to when this war will be over."

"I cannot agree with you more. I hope it comes soon." she said. " I wish that I could be doing more to help with the war effort more."

"What do you mean?" Severus asked perplexed.

"I feel like I should be out in the trenches as it were. When so many of our people are fighting every day for our safety I remain here at the school. You go out every night and risk your life so that all of us may one day live in peace." She said. "I just do not feel very useful here."

Severus was incredulous. "Don't say that, you are extremely useful.One of the reasons that this school is so safe is because you are here. The Headmaster has chosen his staff very well for this school. Your very presence helps to protect these students and that is extremely important. You are keeping the next generation of our kind safe, and you are educating them to live in this world one day. Your influence will help this children to create a better society for us." Severus replied. "Do not ever underestimate what you do for our people."

Minerva had never really though about it this way before. It had never really occurred to her that in teaching these students she was doing her own part to help win this war. "Thank you for your thoughts on this Severus. You helped me to gain a new perspective."

Before he could reply a house elf appeared before them in Minerva's sitting room. "Professor Dumbledore is wanting to see you in his office." the elf informed Severus.

"Thank you Abner." he said standing up. "Let him know that I will be there in a few minutes." The elf bowed and disappeared with a pop.

"I apologize for cutting this short Minerva." Severus began but before he could finish what he was going to say Mitzi, Minerva's elf appeared.

She had the exact same message for her mistress that Abner had for Severus. "I wonder what this could be about." Minerva said to Severus.

"I haven't the faintest idea, at any rate since he wants to see both of us we might as well go to his office together." Severus said.

"I think that would be quite agreeable." Minerva replied. "Don't forget your book."

"Don't worry, I won't." he said picking up the book before they exited her rooms.

They spent the walk across the castle to the headmaster's office in companionable silence. Minerva was wondering what Albus could possibly want with both of them. She doubted he could be calling another staff meeting. It was generally unheard of to have two of those in one day. They had not had any major conflicts aside from that embarrassing misunderstanding on her part a few weeks ago. Maybe this had to do with something related to the students in their respective houses? That had to be it, she thought. At any rate, this certainly was turning out to be an afternoon of firsts.

"Please take a seat." Albus said gesturing to two chairs across from his desk once they had reached his office.

Both of them did as they were told waiting to hear what it was that the Headmaster had called them here for. "From the looks on your faces I can only assume that the two of you are wondering why I asked you both here." he said looking between them. "To keep things short and concise I will get straight to the point."

"Severus has been invited to take part in a gathering this evening of death eaters and other officials. I am given to understand that there will be lots of people there from the ministry as well. I feel that it would be helpful to have a second set of eyes and ears in the vicinity. Therefore I am asking that you, Minerva, to join him this evening. You have served well as a spy for us in the past, and I expect that you will do the same for us now. I will make excuses for both of you this evening, and someone will cover your nightly rounds."

For a moment both Severus and Minerva were speechless. This had been a complete and total shock. Severus was the first to break the silence.

"Headmaster, are you quite certain you want to send Minerva to this event?" he asked, Minerva thought she could detect the faintest sign of irritation in his voice. "I do not believe that two people are required for this gathering.

"While I respect your input Severus, Minerva is an excellent spy, and I trust that her presence will prove invaluable this evening." Albus replied sternly.

"Headmaster, I implore you. I have not doubt that Minerva is an excellent spy, but please send only me. I can get all of the information you need. She is needed here at the school."

"My word is final Severus, Minerva will attend tonight's gathering with you. Now I have other matters to attend to. I trust that you can give her all of the information she needs to know for tonight's event, and advise her as to what type of clothing would be appropriate. You two are now excused, please use this time to prepare for your mission tonight." With that the Headmaster resumed his paperwork and the two professors left his office.

Minerva resented the fact that Severus did not want her to go with him this evening but she tried not to let on anything as the two of them made their way through the halls. There was a new tension between them that had not existed before. One unlike any she had felt around him before. The silence between them this time was not the companionable silence it had been on the walk to the Headmaster's office, but rather a silence that was painfully uncomfortable. This silence was not broken until they had reached Severus' office.

"Please have a seat Minerva." He said gesturing towards a chair across from his desk. "We have much to discuss before tonight's gala."


	17. Muddled Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Severus wakes up with Minerva in an unfamiliar location, with very fuzzy memories of the evening before, he and Minerva have to work together to piece together what happened.

Somewhere off in the distance a wolf was howling. The sun was just beginning to make its ascent into the sky and the world was starting to bask in its pink glow. It was this first light that Severus awoke to.The howling of the wolf seemed to be but a distant dream to him, perhaps it was. In this haze he was in, he knew not.

Blinking he tried to take in his surroundings, for he was not in his own room, instead he found that he was not even in a building at all. Rather he was in the woods. What was more he was not alone. There was a head resting on his chest, Minerva's head to be precise. Her hair had escaped from its binding and was spread out around her sleeping form. A warm feeling spread through Severus as he observed her, she looked so peaceful, so at ease.

Absentmindedly he laid his head back down on the ground. He knew he should have been getting back to the school, but this moment of silence was quite serene. He did not remember the last time he had felt so calm. He knew it was crazy, these were dangerous times they were living in. He was not even entirely sure where he was, yet something about this moment made him want to stay here. For once he felt totally at ease.

Unfortunately he knew that he was being irrational and taking a risk. He had promised the Headmaster that he would see that they both made it safely back to Hogwarts. They probably should have been back hours ago. Professor Dumbledore was likely quite worried about Minerva's wellbeing. Severus knew that the Headmaster had a soft spot for the transfiguration professor. The two of them were like father and daughter, a dynamic they had maintained since Minerva had been his student.

He knew this assignment had been a test because of this. The Headmaster had placed a certain amount of trust in Severus having Minerva go on an assignment with him. It meant that the Headmaster believed that he could bring her back safely. If he did not, he knew there would be consequences. Very great consequences indeed. She was safe though; laying here with him, his arm wrapped around her protectively.

Suddenly rational thought began to hit him and the questions began to flood his mind. What had happened last night? Was the mission successful? Why were they in a forest? Perhaps the most pressing question on his mind at the moment was how had he and Minerva ended up in this particular predicament? Some details were there but they were quite fuzzy in his mind, almost as if they had been intentionally covered by a curtain of sorts.

Minerva might know more of what was going on, he was contemplating waking her when she began to stir. She stretched out and her eyelids began to flutter. All rational thought was telling Severus that he should have removed his arm from around her waist, but he could not bring himself to do that. He just stayed as he was while she woke up.

Upon gaining consciousness Minerva appeared to be just as dazed and confused as he was."Good morning." He said hoping to forgo any tension there might be.

"Good morning." She replied turning slightly to look at him.

"I trust you slept well? Severus asked trying to keep the tone light. Truth be told he had never been in a situation like this one before, and he was not entirely sure what the protocol was for waking up in the middle of the woods with your coworker.

"Quite well I think." She replied. "How did you sleep?"

Until that point he had not given much thought to it. "Considering the circumstances very well I should think." He said.

"Good." She replied matter of factly. This gave way to a few moments of silence.

"Erm, Minerva." Severus asked after over a minute of silence.

"Yes Severus?"

"I was wondering, if you might know something of where we are, and how we came to be here." Severus finally asked.

"You mean you do not remember?" Minerva asked somewhat surprised.

"I am seeing flashes of things, but for some reason everything is quite fuzzy." Severus said sheepishly.

"How much do you remember?" She asked curiously.

"Not much at all to be quite honest. I remember leaving the castle, and that we had a rather heated discussion of sorts. Then I remember arriving at the party. We talked for awhile, and after that things become fuzzy." He said somewhat embarrassed. "Would you mind filling me in on what exactly transpired?"

"I would be glad to." She replied. "However before I do I think we should be getting back to the castle."

"Quite, the Headmaster will be expecting our report of last night's activities." Severus said sitting up. "We should be on our way now."

"We really should be getting back, but we need not worry on the Headmaster's account. Albus owled us last night saying that he had urgent business to attend to and that he would not be returning for the next few days." Minerva said brushing some twigs out of her hair.

Severus inwardly sighed with relief. He had no idea what he would have told the Headmaster had they gone straight to his office. With his memories as muddled as they were he would have a difficult time proving to the Headmaster that he was competent. This was incredibly embarrassing, it would be even harder for him to explain the situation he found himself in upon waking up. He really was wondering what had happened the night before.

"Minerva, why are we waiting until we get back to the castle before we discuss the events of last night?" Severus asked as they started walking out of the forest.

"For one thing I would like to shower and change into something a little more comfortable." Minerva said gesturing to her hair and the gown she was still wearing from the previous evening. "Additionally if you really are hazy about the memories of last night I would rather not rush things, we could talk about this over a cup of tea and some breakfast. I am sure you must be famished, I know I am."

Until that moment Severus had not realized just how hungry he was to begin with. The mere mention of breakfast made his stomach growl with hunger. "That is a sensible plan." Severus remarked. "If I may ask one more question though, where exactly are we?"

"To be quite honest with you Severus, I am not entirely sure of that myself. After we left the party last night things were quite frantic. Actually, you brought us here through side along apparition. Why don't we get out into the open and you can tell us where it is that we are."

The pair walked through the brush until they made it out into the open. There was green as far as the eye could see, and the fresh smell of sea air. Severus looked around absolutely stunned. He was more baffled than ever now.

"What is it Severus, is something wrong?"Minerva asked, noting the expression on his face. "Do you recognize this place?"

"Yes, I do." Severus began. "We're in County Derry."

"You mean to tell me that we are in Ireland?" Minerva asked in shock.

"Northern Ireland to be precise, but yes." Severus replied.

"Ireland?" Minerva repeated again, somewhat dazed. "What are we doing in Ireland?"

"While at the precise moment my reasons for coming here are quite hazy, I think I might have some idea as to why I would come here." He said slowly. "We should be getting back to the castle. Are you comfortable apparating to Hogwarts from here, or would you prefer side along apparition? I am comfortable either way."

"If it's all the same with you, if much rather use side along apparition. I've never actually apparated such a large distance before." Minerva said bashfully.

"My apologies Minerva." Severus said quickly. "'Of course, side along apparition it is."

"Alright." Minerva said. "How would you like to go about doing this"

"If you are not opposed to it I would like to minimize the risk of splinching." Severus said. "If you would allow me to..."

"Of course." Minerva said. "Whatever is safest in your opinion."

Severus slipped his arm around her waist and held her firmly. Apparition over great distances could be quite tricky and required a great deal of concentration. The possibility of splinching was particularly high, especially if one factored side along apparition into the equation.

"Okay, do you feel secure?" Severus asked.

"Yes." Minerva said, wrapping her arms around his neck for good measure.

"Alright, hold on tight." Severus said, and with that a whooshing sound filled his ears and then they were on solid ground again, in Hogsmeade village.

Once they had made it to their destination they stood in place for a moment until both could fully regain their footing. Minerva looked a little bit pale, but nonetheless relatively unscathed from the journey.

"Are you quite alright?" He asked her after a moment, concern in his voice. "No splinching, motion sickness?"

"I think I am completely intact." She said. "Maybe a little unsteady though."

"Would you like to sit down for awhile and take a break before heading up to the castle?" He asked her.

"No, I think I will be fine, we should be getting back to the school though. I am sure I can manage the walk."

"Let me help you then." Severus said offering her his arm again. She really did look quite pale still. "I insist."

"Thank you." Minerva said gratefully taking his arm.

"Apparating such a distance can have a profound effect on a person. It gets better, I promise." Severus said as they walked out of Hogsmeade village and towards the castle.The rest of the walk was a quiet one, and by the time they had made it to the school Minerva was looking much better.

"Alright." Minerva said "I do need to shower, and change now, and I suppose that you need to do the same. Why don't we meet up in about half an hour?"

"We could meet in my office." Severus said.

Minerva nodded her ascent and the two of them went their separate ways. When Severus had made it to his rooms he quickly showered and changed clothes. His dress robes from the previous day were not too much the worse for wear after having spent the night in the forest, however they would definitely need a good cleaning.

It was a short walk from his rooms to his office, everything was just as he had left it the day before. His memories of the previous evening were still quite foggy. The situation was becoming stranger and stranger to him, the more he tried to access his memories from the previous day's, the more and more they seemed harder to reach. They were there, just beneath the surface. He could feel them, but they were just out of reach.

It might help him if he were able to extract the memories, a look in the Pensieve might be just what he needed. He kept his Pensieve in a small cupboard behind his desk. Opening the doors to the cupboard the stone Pensieve floated out and landed on top of his desk. He had kept a Pensieve for years, but he found it to be especially helpful now. Sometimes it was difficult for him to keep all of his thoughts straight.

He was looking into the surface of the Pensieve when there was a knock at the door. "Come in." he said. Not lifting his gaze from the swirling surface of the pensive.

"I thought you might be hungry." Minerva said. "I brought some rolls and muffins from the Great Hall."

"Thank you Minerva." Severus said gratefully looking up from his desk. "I am quite famished."

"Is that a Pensieve?" Minerva asked intrigued. Walking over to his desk.

"Yes, it is. I thought it might be of some use in deciphering my memories from last night." Severus said taking a muffin from Minerva.

"I'm sure it will be helpful." she said cautiously looking at the object.

"It will be helpful in allowing us to look through my memories more closely." Severus said giving a nod to the basin on top of his desk.

"Certainly." Minerva said still inspecting the Pensieve while Severus finished off his muffin.

Taking out his wand Severus placed the tip of it to his temple and began to draw out the memories. He then placed the swirling strand into the stone basin on his desk. Images began to swirl around in a blur, this was quite odd.

"Minerva." He finally asked after looking into the Pensieve for about five minutes. "Can you make any of this out."

She promptly joined him and began looking into the Pensieve as well. "Do the memories normally go by in a blur like this one?" She asked him

"No, generally they are quite clear." He replied. "That is what is so strange about this. It looks like me will have to dive right in then. Ladies first."

"Are you sure Severus. Memories are a deeply personal thing, I would not want to invade your privacy." Minerva said eyeing the swirling memories hesitantly.

"I trust you implicitly, even more than that I value your help and assistance in this matter." Severus said seriously.

"Very well." Minerva said. "If you are sure."

"I am." Severus said firmly. "Why don't you go in first."

"Actually, I would rather you did. I have never used a Pensieve before." She replied sheepishly.

"My apologies Minerva." Severus said. "I had just assumed, I'm sorry. Yes I will go first."

He was slightly embarrassed at just assuming Minerva was familiar with pensieves; he must have come off as quite the snob to her. Assuming things always served to cause problems. Hiding his blush of shame he looked down into the Pensieve and took the plunge. In an instant the room they were in was gone and he found himself spiraling downwards before landing on the ground in a soft thud. He was followed a moment later by Minerva.

"Are you quite alright?" he asked her once she had landed next to him.

"Fine." She replied. "This is definitely a different experience."

"I do not think one ever really gets used to diving into a Pensieve so to speak, but now that we are here we should see what it is we can find." Severus replied.

All around him things were not as they normally would appear. Instead of everything being clear and crisp it was all blurry, cloudy even, as if they were lost in the fog. This was quite curious indeed. He could make out figures and outlines, but even the voices of the figures around them were muffled. Everything was spinning.

"I think it best if we leave the Pensieve for now Minerva." Severus said putting a hand to his forehead. "If anything this is just making things more confusing than before." He grabbed her arm and a moment later they were standing in his office again. This time he was the one feeling a little ill.

"Severus, I am assuming that is not how memories normally appear in the Pensieve. Would you be terribly offended if I asked you a personal question?" she asked him cautiously.

"Not at all." He replied. "At this point I would be quite thankful for any solution to the problem at hand."

"Were you perchance drinking anything last night?" she asked him gently.

"Minerva, are you insinuating that I was inebriated last night?" Severus asked her carefully turning to look at her.

"Perhaps not quite drunk, but it is always possible that you may have had clouded thoughts and memories to due consumption of alcohol." she replied, equally as careful.

Severus sighed deeply before replying to her. "Minerva, in any of the times we have spent together have you ever seen me drink? On any occasion?" he asked her.

She thought for a moment, "No, I have not, but I knew before we left that you were rather upset about the whole event so it is not out of the realm of possibility."

Severus shook his head for a moment. "Do you honestly think I would let my guard down so much that I would risk showing up to a potentially explosive situation inebriated?" he asked her incredulously.

"When you put it that way, it sounds ridiculous that I would even think that." Minerva replied somewhat ashamed. "With a job like yours though, no one would blame you for seeking some relief, some sense of escape."

"In alcohol though?" He asked her. "Is that what the other members of the staff think I do in my spare time? Drink away my sorrows and pain?" He was getting frustrated at this point.

"That is not what I meant at all." she replied hastily. "I did not mean to imply that. I was just saying that it would be understandable considering the stress of your job. I did not mean to offend you."

He took a deep breath and finally made a reply. "I apologize Minerva, I overreacted. Your hypothesis on the cause of my muddled memories is understandable, if not plausible at any time. You see as a rule I abstain from alcohol. I should have just explained that in the beginning rather than get worked up over it."

"Severus, I did not know." Minerva replied placing a hand on his arm.

"You did not know." he replied. "At any rate I really wish I knew what went on last night. I am even more baffled by the situation now that I cannot even make out my memories in a Pensieve. This has never happened to me before."

"Why don't we look at my memories in the Pensieve?" Minerva asked. "I know they will not be quite the same as yours, but they could give you an idea of what happened and it might help you to fill in some of the blanks."

Severus was surprised at her offer, memories were intensely personal and private things. She was willing to trust him with memories of the previous evening. "Are you quite certain?" he asked her.

"Yes." she replied firmly. "I want to help you and this seems to be the best way of doing so. Aside from that perhaps you can explain some of the things that happened last night."

"What do you mean, explain a few things?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"Oh you know, some of the people we met last night, that sort of thing." Minerva said.

Severus let out a breath he did not know he was holding. Not having his memories from the night before made him worry about what exactly he had been doing. Rather than say any more about that the two proceeded to the Pensieve again, this time to view Minerva's memories. Soon they began to swirl around them and they had a clear view of the night before.


	18. A Ministry Affair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we finally find out just what it is that caused Severus to forget everything from the night before, and what exactly happened on this mission.

Minerva felt the distinct sensation of falling as she plummeted through the Pensieve. All around her memories began to unfold and materialize. She hardly knew that to expect from this experience. To be able to see the last night play out in front of them would certainly be an interesting event. To have Severus see it with her would be even more revealing.  
She hoped that they would not be going too far back into her memories; she would be mortified if they landed in her dressing room. She was not sure that would be something that she would ever be able to live down. Alas, even if they did not land there she knew that she would be embarrassed one way or another. Some of what happened last night had been interesting to say the least.  
Her worries about landing in her dressing room were soon abated when she landed on the floor of the entrance hall, right behind the Grand Staircase, with a thud. A moment later Severus landed next to her with ease. It was clear that he was far more experienced at this than she was.  
How strange it was to see herself as she had been the night before! She supposed that this was what an out of body experience must be like. Or perhaps a movie of her life, but an interactive version so to speak. Presently the scene began to unfold before them.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

As Minerva walked down the staircase she heard barely contained voices coming from the Entrance Hall. She knew that she should not eavesdrop, but it was especially difficult knowing that the voices belonged to Severus and Albus, and her name had been mentioned at least once. Perhaps if she just stood where she was they would not notice her. It would be incredibly rude to interrupt their conversation.  
Perhaps conversations was the wrong word for it. Rather it seemed to be more of a heated discussion. While Albus had not even raised his voice his tone had lost its ever present cheerfulness. Severus on the other hand seemed more flustered than Minerva had ever seen him before. His voice was certainly less controlled than was normal for him.  
“Albus, I implore you. I do not wish Minerva to participate in this event tonight. I am fully capable of performing my duties!” Severus said struggling to keep his voice down.  
“Severus, I will hear no more of this. You know my mind on this matter. Minerva will accompany you on this mission tonight, and that is certain.” Albus replied. “She is more than capable; I assure you. A more accomplished spy than you know.”  
“Yes Headmaster, but do you honestly believe she is up to this mission? That she is ready for this?” Severus asked.  
“I am entirely certain of it. There is no one else in the Order I would trust so much with aiding you in this task.” Albus said. “Now I shall consider the matter closed.”  
Severus looked like he was about to say something but he was prevented from his reply. Evidently Albus had noticed Minerva. “Ahh, Minerva. You do look quite lovely this evening. Wouldn’t you agree Severus?”  
“Of course.” Severus said, barely looking at her.  
“Do not mind him Minerva.” Albus said leaning towards her conspiratorially. “He is always distant before going off on these missions. Between you and I it helps him get into character. Severus is a bit of a method actor.”  
Minerva laughed gently and smiled at the Headmaster hoping that he did not notice the hurt she still felt over his comments. The scene began to shift out of focus.

As they walked down the path from Hogwarts to their apparition point in the village Severus marched along quickly keeping a few yards ahead of Minerva. She found that she did not mind this too much as it gave her more time to contemplate his earlier actions, and his apparent coldness towards her. For some reason she was not buying Albus’s excuse that he was merely getting into character.  
While his overall actions were becoming less and less like the Severus she knew, she felt that the anger was real. This change in his attitude had been so strange. They had enjoyed a lovely afternoon together. This had all changed when Severus found out that Albus wanted both of them to go on this assignment together. His attitude about her going along had become more and more hostile, for lack of a better word.  
Had he said anything even remotely offensive to her? No, but he had complained about her presence on this assignment, and actively campaigned against her coming. On top of that he had become rather cold towards her. Rather quickly she had managed to work herself into a mood. What right did he have to assume that she would be more of a hinderance than a help on this assignment? Why should he underestimate her abilities as a spy? She continued this little mental tirade until they were only a little ways away from the gates.  
“Will you stop that Minerva?” Severus asked spinning around to face her all of a sudden. She had no choice but to abruptly stop. His voice was deathly quiet, yet it felt as if he had screamed at her.  
“What is it exactly that you wish me to cease doing?” Minerva asked, her face impassive trying to keep her voice steady. “Shall I stop breathing, living, walking?”  
Severus sighed. “You know perfectly well that it is none of those things. You are practically burning a hole in my head with your eyes and mind. Your loud thoughts are terribly distracting right now.”  
She looked at him dumbstruck. ‘I cannot say I comprehend your meaning.” she replied after a time.  
“Please just make this evening as civil and uneventful as possible.” he said rubbing his temple. “Whatever difficulties we may be having let us call a truce, for the sake of our safety. If you are angry please do not let it show, they will use your feelings against you, try and get inside your head. This is something that you do not want them to do.”  
The transfiguration professor hesitated for a moment, but in the end she reached out to shake his hand. Neither of them would break the truce for this evening. This little encounter had left her without answers to her questions, indeed it had left her with more questions than she had before, but it was all that she would be able to get from him for the time being. The rest of the walk to Hogsmeade was made in slightly less hostile silence. 

The scene shifted again and they found themselves in a darkened alleyway in London. Outside of the alleyway cars sped past on the road. Unlike their world, the muggle world was not in hibernation. How blissful it must have been to be so unaware of what was going on in the world. What she would give to be able to return to some semblance of normal.  
Severus pulled her further into the alleyway so that they were both completely hidden from view. They were soon deep in silent conference, even though they had taken the precaution of casting a silencing spell. One could never be too careful these days. Saying something around the wrong person could be the difference between life and death. Especially when two people were going over the details for a top secret mission, for a top secret organization.  
“To recap Minerva you remember the plan for tonight?” the potions master asked her patiently. Almost as if he were speaking to a child it seemed to Minerva.  
“Yes.” she replied. “We will be attending a Ministry of Magic function on behalf of Albus. He was suddenly called away on pressing business and we are there as his representatives. There will be several Death Eaters and sympathizers at the gala. You will be acting the double agent. I will be the diplomatic face of the school, secretly keeping an eye on you. Or at least that is how things will appear.”  
“Exactly.” Severus replied with a slight smile. “Now remember we are gathering information on the cause, those who are our allies within the Ministry, and those who are not. Understood?”  
“Yes.” Minerva replied. Why oh why did he have to handle this as if she were two years old? “Is there anything else?”  
“We will be together for most of the evening, but it is possible that we may be separated for a time. If this does in fact happen I pray that you exercise extreme caution. There will be people here tonight who will wish you harm due to your position at the school. Your position of favor with the Headmaster is not exactly a secret. While in some circles this may be seen as quite advantageous, I can assure you that this is not the case here.” Severus said warningly. “Further I would go so far as to caution you against accepting any food or drink without allowing me to check it for, shall we say, potentially harmful substances?”  
“Understood.” she replied.  
“Good, Now we shall be on our way.” Severus said. With a flick of his wand he cancelled the silencing spell and the pair departed down the alleyway to the seemingly innocuous apartment building the Ministry was using to host this event. From the outside it appeared to be a perfectly normal muggle block of flats, if not somewhat run down. All of the windows were dark, and it did not appear that there was anyone there. For a brief instant Minerva found herself wondering if there actually was anyone there, if perhaps they had come to the wrong place.  
When they had reached the gate Severus pulled out his wand and tapped the entrance post three times. Suddenly it contorted until it had become a brilliant archway. The building that had previously appeared to be a block of flats, became a vast manor house. Light poured from the windowpanes, and one could see the outlines of people in discussion. Stepping through the gateway was like walking into another world. All of the buildings that had stood at either side had disappeared. It was as if they were in the country rather than at the center of a bustling city.  
The inside of the building was just as grand as the outside had become. Upon giving their names at the door a junior ministry attendant took their cloaks and ushered them into the grand ballroom. Grand was perhaps not the best word to describe the room before them. To be sure it was an understatement of the highest degree. Minerva could not find the words to describe what splendor lay before them.  
Crystal chandeliers sparkled magnificently above them floating from the ceiling. Silk and taffeta banners twisted elegantly from the balconies above. The floor was made up of what appeared to be glittering crystals. Elegance did not even begin to describe it. One could spend an entire evening admiring this beautiful hall.  
It took Minerva a little while to pry her eyes from everything to notice everyone around them. The room was filled with ministry officials and members of prominent families in their world. Everyone was dressed in their best clothing, and clearly many were there to impress others. She turned around to say something to Severus, but was taken aback by what she saw. His appearance was not greatly altered but something about him seemed different, darker even.  
It may have been the set of his jaw, or his posture, but something was different. His demeanor had completely changed. He no longer seemed like someone she could laugh and joke with, instead he was completely serious. So much so that if she had not known him better she would not have believed that any other version of him existed. This change in him frustrated her very much, but she knew that this was not the time nor the place to do or say anything about it.  
Her thoughts on the matter were quickly interrupted when the Minister for Magic came over to greet them. Millicent Bagnold was certainly an imposing figure, even the toughest opponent knew better than to start an argument with her. Tonight though some of her stern exterior had dropped and she greeted them warmly.  
She was not a very large witch, perhaps only reaching a height of around 5’2” tall but her steely gray eyes and her imposing jaw were enough to cause anyone to stand back. Her long brown hair bore streaks of silver, and was nearly always in a neat braid down her back. Unlike many of the other ministry officials she preferred to wear brightly colored robes to solid black and grey ones. In many ways she was like a female version of Albus. It was no wonder the two shared a close friendship.  
“Professor McGonagall.” she said. “How good of you to come tonight. I do hope you will enjoy the festivities taking place here.”  
“Thank you for your generous invitation Minister.” Minerva said in kind.  
“Yes.” Severus said, turning on some charm, but still retaining his dark demeanor. “It was very gracious indeed for you to be so accommodating to us.”  
“You must be Professor Snape.” Millicent said offering him her hand, which he took with little hesitation. “I am delighted to have both of you here tonight. Especially since Albus was so suddenly and unfortunately detained.”  
“The Headmaster is quite the busy man.” Severus replied. “I am sure Minerva could attest to that.”  
“Indeed, his job is rather taxing, and it does tend to take him on rather unexpected business at times.” Minerva replied.  
“I understand.” Millicent said, although Minerva was sure she must have suspected something was going on. “I must be off now, but do give Albus my warm regards when you next see him.” With that the older witch left them.  
Once she was gone Severus and Minerva made the obligatory rounds greeting ministry officials and prominent members of society. It was a task Minerva did not particularly relish, but one that she knew was of vital importance to their mission, and for that matter, the good of the school. Minerva soon discovered that Severus could be quite adept at the social graces. It soon came to a point, however, when the two of them split off from one another.  
Secretly Minerva found this to be a relief. While she had agreed to Severus’ “truce” she was still rather annoyed with him. While his attitude towards the Ministry officials had been quite cordial, amiable even, he had been rather chilly to her. It was as if he wanted to escape her presence. His attitude towards her was hurting matters more than helping them. She had no idea how Albus could have ever thought that this would work.  
She would have to put those thoughts from her mind though. Alas, she was not here to analyze the behaviors of her coworker, she was here to socialize with those invited to the event. Still, it would be difficult not to keep thinking of this situation. Even now he was managing to charm officials across the room, one young brunette in particular.  
It was while she was contemplating this that she was interrupted by the arrival of a young man. He was wearing a dark grey set of dress robes and he held a glass of champagne in his hands.  
“Professor McGonagall, how nice it is to see you here this evening!” he said grandly.  
“Cornelius, what a pleasure it is to see you.” she said. “I was not expecting to see you here tonight.” Cornelius Fudge was a young and ambitious politician who held high hopes of one day becoming Minister. The man was perhaps a bit dull, but his company was tolerable.  
“Well you know how it is with these Ministry affairs. They were quite insistent that I attend. What its my office I must suppose it seemed only natural that I was invited to attend.” he said. “Enough about me already, do tell me how you are getting on then.”  
“I am doing well.” she replied. “Albeit I have been busier than I think I ever have been before in my life.”  
“I take it that Albus is certainly keeping you occupied.” Cornelius replied playfully. “If the workload ever becomes too much, or the job becomes dull you will always have a place at the Ministry. You are certainly going places. I would not be surprised if one day you became a member of the Wizengamot.”  
“That is a very generous offer Cornelius.” Minerva replied. “Hogwarts is my home though. It makes me very happy to be a professor at the school. Being a teacher is incredibly fulfilling for me. Although I must say the offer is quite flattering.”  
“It is not flattery if it is the truth my dear.” Cornelius replied. “It sounds as if they are starting the music now. Would you care to join me for the first dance?”  
“It would be a pleasure.” she replied allowing him to take her hand and lead her to the floor. Although the music had one just begun several other couples had already taken to the dance floor. In the distance she even spotted Severus with a striking partner. he same woman he had been talking to before. Minerva had never seen the woman before tonight, but she and Severus seemed to be rather intimately acquainted. He just seemed so relaxed around her.  
She could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy at this. It was ridiculous that she should feel such an emotion. After all she should have realized that he probably had other acquaintances, friends, or even more than that outside of Hogwarts. It was selfish of her to believe that she was his only confidante. It made sense after all. There was still so much about him that she did not know.  
Once the dance began her thoughts on her co-worker vanished. She was swept away in the music. Cornelius was an amiable partner, if not always in step. While he was somewhat self absorbed he did have a good heart. Before she even realized it the dance was over and Cornelius was asking her if she would like the next dance as well.  
He was interrupted, however, by another. It would seem that the younger Barty Crouch was in need of a partner and Minerva had caught his attention. As he was the son of a prominent official Cornelius Fudge gallantly stepped aside. The young Crouch was a precocious boy. Minerva had faint memories of him from their overlapping time at Hogwarts. She remembered that he was considered to be quite a promising scholar with his intellectual gifts; with his father’s position in the Ministry she was certain that he would be going places.  
The boy was not a bad dancer, and he kept her engaged in charming conversation throughout the dance. It had been pleasant enough that they had a second dance together, and they were beginning a third when a familiar voice cut in from behind Minerva.  
“If you will allow me to cut in.” Severus said, his voice silky and smooth. Minerva promised me the next set of dances.” Barty was about to protest, but Severus gave him a withering glare. It was quite effectual, for it silenced the boy.  
Minerva hardly knew what was happening before Severus swept her away. For a moment she was speechless, then the music began. He placed his hand firmly on her waist, and with his other hand gently, but firmly took hers. He was an astonishingly good dancer. There was no stepping on toes, or any awkward moments of wondering who would lead. In the moment she completely forgot her perturbation with him. Their eyes locked, and she was lost in another world.  
It was Severus who finally initiated the conversation after a time. “I see that you have had quite the array of partners this evening Minerva.” Severus said with a faint but distinct chill to his voice.  
“I would not go quite that far.” Minerva replied. “My two partners this evening both proved to be charming and enjoyable companions.”  
“Charming and enjoyable? I am sure Cornelius regaled you with his tales of Ministry politics and his plans to run for Minister. Or perhaps he enraptured you with a list of his self perceived accomplishments.” Severus said with a snort. “All while ensuring that your feet would be quite the worse for wear tomorrow morning. Do not even get me started on that second partner of yours. You should be thanking me for rescuing you from his grasp.”  
“Rescuing me Severus?” she asked indignantly. “In no way did I need rescuing. I am not a damsel in distress. There was no harm in either our conversation, nor our dancing. He was far more amiable than you in our two dances together.”  
“I would not spend half so much time in his company as that! That boy is trouble Minerva. He is not the person you want to be associating with.” Severus said. “Consider this to be a friendly warning.”  
“Do I not seem trustworthy Severus? Am I incapable of choosing whom I associate with and whom I do not?” She could not believe that he was accosting her thusly.  
“In this matter I ask only that you trust me and do not do anything foolhardy.” he replied. “I cannot spend my entire evening watching you to make sure you do not get yourself into a dangerous situation. I too have a job to perform this evening.”  
“Does that job include galavanting off with different ladies? If so I must apologize for stealing you away from your partner over there. Even now she is glaring at us. Who is she Severus? An acquaintance, a friend, a lover?” Minerva asked, far more bitterness in her voice than she had expected.  
Severus stiffened at her last sentence. “With whom I associate inside and outside of work is absolutely none of your concern.” he replied icily.  
“Yet my associations are of your concern?” Minerva asked bitterly. “It hardly seems fair that you alone are above reproach.”  
“This is quite a different situation. Barty Crouch is not a good person. He strikes me as the type who drowns puppies and kittens in his spare time.” Severus said. “He has made plenty of horrible choices in his time, and as yet has shown no remorse for any of them.”  
“This talk of poor decision making is rich coming from you Severus.” she replied, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them.  
There was no going back now though. Their second dance was ending. Severus’ normally impassive mask began to show signs of anger, maybe even hurt. Just as soon though they vanished. “Now that you have gallantly rescued me rom a fate worse than death and your duty is now done go rejoin your lover. She seems to be quite the impatient type.”  
Without another word he turned on his heel and left. Once he had gone she wished he had not. His leaving as he had did confirm her suspicions. He did have a lover, although why this bothered her so much she did not know. She was momentarily confused by all of these feelings. Perhaps it was the situation, seeing all of these couples only served to make her think of what she had given up.  
When the music began for the next dance she found herself a wallflower. Severus had indeed gone back to dancing with that woman. Her expression when she looked over at Minerva was infuriatingly smug. What she needed now was some air.  
She made her way through the ballroom and out the back way to a pleasant veranda overlooking a well manicured garden; complete with a hedge maze and fountains. Under other circumstances she would consider this view to be quite lovely, but tonight she just found it to be a little too much. The Ministry had certainly outdone themselves with the enchantments for the courtyard. One could not even tell that they were in a bustling city.  
She leaned out over the stone railing and took a few deep breaths, allowing herself to relax a bit. The cool autumn air did her a great deal of good. It would be a relief to return to the school that evening. As she was preparing to return to the party another person joined her at the railing, a drink in hand.  
“Take this.” Barty said. “It will make you feel better.”  
Minerva looked down at the glass he held out to her. Severus had warned her about the food and drink here. Yet this was a Ministry of Magic function. There was no one here who should wish her harm. Barty also happened to be the son of a very prominent official. Yet, Severus had warned her about him too. It did not make sense though. He gave her no reason to distrust him, and there was certainly no reason he should wish her ill.  
While this boy might have been particularly awkward socially his manners were good enough. She had never heard anyone utter a negative word against him, save for Severus just now. Tonight he had even shown her a great deal of kindness. What did Severus know about him anyhow?  
She raised the glass to her lips to drink from it, but stopped short. For some reason she could not shake off the feeling that this was a bad idea.  
“Is something the matter?” Barty asked her gently.  
“I just realized that I am quite famished. One should not drink on an empty stomach.” she replied.  
“I will go get you some food. In the meantime, drink up. It will make you feel better.” he said, then headed inside.  
Suddenly she felt an extremely strong and overwhelming desire to drink what was in the glass. She wanted to drink the liquid so badly. It was perfectly safe, her worries were ridiculous. The contents of that glass would make her feel so much better. Liquid was life giving after all, and it had been quite awhile since she had anything to drink. She would not be harmed by it, only helped.  
Raising the glass to her lips she prepared to drink it. She hear a faint far off sound, then a voice. She may have heard a name, her own, but none of that mattered. Only the contents of this glass were important. Now she would drink.  
Suddenly the glass was snatched from her hand. “Minerva, what on earth do you think you are doing?” a distant voice asked her. “Minerva, Minerva?”  
All she could think about was the contents of that glass. She had to get back to it, she desperately needed it. At all costs she had to get it.  
“Minerva?” the voice replied with barely perceptible concern. “Snap out of it.”  
The voice was a vague echo now. The one thing separating her from the glass. Desperately she reached for it again.  
“Minerva, Minerva.” Severus said almost shaking her. “Snap out of it.” It was no use though, his words were only empty echoes in her mind. She needed what was in that glass, she needed it badly. Again she tried to reach for it, but Severus managed to keep it from her grasp. In vain she tried to attack him for it, but it was of no use.  
“What on earth has gotten into you woman?” Severus asked. Carefully he brought the cup closer to him and sniffed the contents. He frowned slightly. “Who gave you this drink Minerva?”  
“I need what is in that cup Severus.” She said carefully, eyeing a weakness and preparing to grab it from him. If he stayed just the way he was she would be able to grab it and down the liquid. When the time appeared right, she pounced.  
Severus was quicker than she had given him credit for, he had moved away just in the nick of time. “Minerva, this is irrational.” Severus said slowly. “You do not want what is in this glass, trust me.” With that he took the glass and attempted to pour its contents our. Unfortunately though, nothing was happening. The liquid just stayed in the glass. Minerva lunged for it again, but this time Severus did something wholly unexpected. He raised the glass to his lips and swallowed down the liquid. In moments it was gone, and suddenly Minerva’s head cleared up.  
“Severus.” she asked quietly. “What just happened, what did you just do?”  
“Something incredibly foolish.” he said slipping the empty glass back into her hand. “We do not have much time Minerva, we will need to be going quite soon. At best we have about fifteen minutes to get out of here. Now I must know, who gave you this glass?”  
She was prevented from answering by the very man who had given her the glass before. “Ahh Minerva, Snape. How good it is to see both of you out here now. Minerva and I were just getting better acquainted, weren’t we dear?” Severus visibly stiffened at the encounter, it would seem that he and the young Barty Crouch were already acquainted and Severus’ position did not seem to be terribly favorable.  
“I am afraid that Professor Snape and I must be going.” Minerva replied heeding Severus’ warning. “Perhaps another time.”  
“Yes, another time.” Severus replied almost icily. “Now we must really be going.”  
“No, really, I insist the lady stays Snape, leave if you will but I will take care of Minerva.” Barty said stepping closer to them.  
“I am sure you would.” Severus said under his breath. He placed his hand on Minerva’s elbow.  
“Now, now, Severus. Play fair you already have one woman, you do not need a second one.” Some men had come out to join Barty now, some rather menacing looking men. As they came closer Severus wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her somewhat behind him so that he was shielding her.  
“Perhaps I did not make myself clear before.” Severus said. “We are leaving now.” The men started to close in on them.  
They backed closer and closer to the gate. Minerva’s heart was pounding now. “Come Severus, do you not think this is a little irrational. It is not you we want but the girl. Do not be a fool.” Barty said laughing as if they were simply enjoying an entertaining conversation.  
Severus kept his wand pointed at the figures before them. “I think not. You shall not get her. “ he replied calmly.  
“Neither will you at this rate.” Barty said unconcerned.  
Severus brought Minerva closer to him and whispered in her ear. “Do you trust me?” he asked, and she nodded her head in reply. He pulled her even closer to him, his arm more firmly wrapped around her waist.  
“What do you think you are doing Snivellus?” Barty asked laughing. “You think that by holding her you can somehow protect her? There are five of us, and one of you, this will hardly work out in your favor.”  
“Indeed?” Severus asked backing up even further still. They were now almost touching the stone railing. They had nowhere else to go. “On my signal Minerva, grab on to me and hold on tight.” he said so quietly she could barely hear him.  
“Yes, it seems your little game has come to an end. It was a lost cause from the beginning you know. For you see, what I want, I get. I always have, and I always will. My loyalty is unquestionable.” Barty said. “You have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.”  
Suddenly Severus flicked his wand behind them and with a bang a large portion of the veranda had crumpled to dust.  
“Are you planning on jumping then? I can assure you that it is a futile attempt at best. We are two or three stories up. Assuming you survive the fall you will have numerous broken bones to contend with. Why not end this the easy way and just give up.”  
“Do you trust me?” Severus asked Minerva one more time.  
“Yes.” she replied without hesitation. Somehow she knew that he would be able to get them out of this, although she was not sure how he would manage it.  
“Good.” he replied. Barty raised his wand and sent a curse their way. Quick as a flash Severus deflected it. “Now.” he said to Minerva, and she did as he had instructed her. They had reached the end of the veranda. She could feel the open air behind her. There was nothing between them and the ground below.  
“You win Barty.” Severus said. “It was a rather foolish thought anyway.” Severus slipped his wand back up his sleeve.  
“I am glad you could see things my way. It would have been a shame to lose you, one who is so important to the cause.” Barty said, putting his own wand away. He started walking towards them but just as he was drawing near to them Severus stepped backwards pulling Minerva with him.  
She felt a bit of a tug, and then they were falling, backwards, to what seemed like certain doom. Her heart raced and she felt fear like she had never felt before. The moment they had gone over the ledge she had plastered her eyes shut, she could not bear to look. Within seconds they would be smashing into the ground below. Minerva braced herself for the impact, for that last bit of time she might have, but alas it never came.  
Cautiously she opened one eye, and looked out, careful not to let go of Severus. They were no longer hurtling towards the ground. In fact it seemed that they were gliding, nay, flying, towards the hedge maze in the middle of the garden. Everything felt so calm, in what felt like just a few moments they were well within the boundaries of the maze and they gently touched down.  
“Are you quite alright?” Severus asked after a moment’s hesitation.  
“Yes.” Minerva replied, but her voice was still rather shaky.  
“No injuries? He did not lay a hand on you, did he?” Severus asked almost dangerously.  
“No.” Minerva replied emphatically.  
“Good, you do not know just how relieved I am to hear that.” Severus replied letting out a deep breath. “Are you certain that you are okay?”  
“Yes, I am just sorry that I was so stupid tonight.” she said ruefully.  
“You did make some questionable decisions.” Severus agreed. “You are not entirely to blame though, I should never have let you out of my sight. If anything had happened to you I do not know what I would have done. I was so worried when I saw that you had disappeared from the ballroom, then when I found you outside.”  
“I know, I was rash and foolish tonight.” Minerva replied looking down. She felt like a complete imbecile. What had she been thinking tonight? Where had her rational thought gone, what must Severus think of her now.  
“Do not blame yourself.” Severus said cupping brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear and cupping her cheek.  
Minerva felt a warm tingle run through her, and she brought her gaze up to meet his. For a moment their eyes locked, his deep black ones, and her green ones. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. She had not seen it coming but its effect was immediate. She felt warmth wash all over her entire body; there were butterflies in her stomach. It was the loveliest sensation, she had been kissed before, but never like this. He was so gentle, so different.  
After a few moments they broke off the kiss and Severus held her in a close embrace. She breathed in deeply and took in his scent; it was quite intoxicating. How had she never managed to notice that before? Severus kissed her forehead and rubbed gentle circles on her back as they stood there in the middle of the maze.  
“We should be going now.” Severus said quietly. “They are apt to be on our tail by now, once they realize that we did not fall to our deaths. It was probably foolish to have waited this long.”  
“You are probably right.” Minerva said feeling dejected. It seemed as though he already regretted their kiss.  
“Minerva.” he said, tilting her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. “Though it may have been foolish, I am not sorry this happened. Not in the least bit.” With that he kissed her again softly, just brushing her lips with his.  
“What is the plan from here?” she asked after a moment.  
“We need to apparate out of here.” he replied. “If we go through the center of the maze there is an apparition point. From there we must go. We cannot return to Hogsmeade tonight, it is after midnight and we know the area will be well guarded. We will have to go elsewhere. If we sidelong apparate I know a place where we can go, but we have to hurry. I am not sure how much longer my strength will hold out.  
They clasped hands and ran through the maze, as they were nearing the center of the maze they heard noises, rustlings. The others were quite close now. Severus was right, they had to find the apparition point and fast. Weaving through passages, and ducking under archways they finally made it to the center of the maze.  
“Ready?” Severus asked her, placing an arm around her waist.  
“Yes.” she replied. Suddenly Barty and his cronies broke through the hedges and raised their wands towards them. Then Minerva felt the familiar sensation of being squeezed through a tube and clamped her eyes shut. When she opened them again they were in the middle of a forest. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

With a thud she landed on the floor of Severus’ rooms, a moment later he was standing next to her. For a moment neither of them said anything. Severus would not meet her eyes. “I know what happened to my memories now.” he said, fists clenched.  
“Oh?” Minerva asked still a little dazed from their trip into the Pensieve.  
“That drink, the one that Barty gave you, it was drugged.” Severus said disgusted.  
“I did not realize…” she said. “I was quite stupid last night. I do not know what came over me when he handed me that glass. Please do not be angry with me.”  
“With you? How could I be angry with you? It is he that I am upset with, and myself. He not only gave you a drugged glass, but he placed a compulsion spell on it. His thoughts were broadcasting loud and clear, the imbecile.” Severus said. “I should have realized, I should never have left you there. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you.”  
“Do not blame yourself Severus, you could not possibly have known what would happen.” Minerva implored.  
“I was supposed to be responsible for you Minerva.” Severus said looking away from her. “I was supposed to make sure nothing happened to you, that you returned unscathed.”  
“You did your job quite well, here I stand completely unscathed.” Minerva replied.  
“Somehow we managed to get through this, but I nearly compromised everything.” he said. “This is exactly why I did not want to bring you along.”  
“You mean to tell me, it is not because you think I am incompetent?” she asked, surprised.  
“Do not be ridiculous Minerva, you are extremely competent.” Severus replied.  
“Well then, I do not see the problem.” she replied.  
“Must I spell it out for you?” he asked her. “I did not want you to have to see the things you did. Merlin’s beard, you saw me at my worst for a good portion of the night. That alone is something your should have never have had to see again.”  
“Everything is alright Severus.” Minerva replied soothingly. “We made it home safe and sound. You are not an awful person. In fact in many ways, I think I saw you at your very best.”  
“No everything is not alright Minerva.” Severus said. “What you must think of me now. If all of my behavior at the gala did not actually destroy your opinion of me, than that incident in the hedge maze should have. I was unable to restrain myself, I lost control in that moment. You did not even give me permission to kiss you.”  
“Severus.” Minerva said walking towards him. “I was completely complicit with that, if you are guilty, then I am afraid I am as well.” She cupped his cheek in her hand gently. He placed his hand overtop of hers and gently brought it away from his face clasping it in his.  
“Professor Snape.” came a voice from behind them.  
“Yes, Professor Edgars.” Severus replied.  
“You are wanted in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey is taking inventory and she requires your assistance.” the portrait said.  
“Thank you Professor.” Severus replied. “Please let Madam Pomfrey know that I will be up momentarily.” With that the portrait bowed and disappeared.  
“Minerva, before I go I have to know something.” Severus said.  
“Yes.” she replied.  
“Did I , I didn't take advantage of you, after we had gotten to the forest?” he asked a look of worry in his eyes. “Did I do anything untoward?”  
“No such thing.” she replied. “You were the perfect gentleman.”  
Severus looked relieved. “I am glad.” he said. “I suppose I must be going then. Will I see you again later today?”  
“I believe you will.” Minerva replied. “There is much preparation to be done. Tonight is the Halloween Feast.”


	19. A Free Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus goes on trial for his past as a Death Eater

Lily Evans was dead. Ruthlessly murdered by Severus' former master. Dead because her son had been deemed a threat. Dead because of a prophesy. Dead because he had been foolish enough to share that prophesy with the wrong. people.

There were no words to describe the complete and total pain that now consumed him. In one evening his entire world had come crashing down on him. Even though he had tried to make amends, had turned his entire life around it meant nothing in the end. The woman he had loved since his childhood now breathed no more. Never had he sobbed so much in his entire life; never had he felt more wretched than he did right now in this instant.

Perhaps instant was the wrong word. He had been in this state of wretchedness for days now. Only leaving his rooms to meet with the Headmaster and teach his classes. Even his meals were being taken to his rooms. Not that it did any good, most of his food had been left untouched; despite the best efforts of Abner to make him eat.

Today though would be different. It was the Saturday of his hearing at the Ministry. Now that the Dark Lord had been vanquished, however temporarily this would be, the world had to go on. People had to put their lives back together. The wizarding world would have to be rebuilt. Naturally this meant that those on the other side had to face justice. Of course he too had to be put on trial. However unpleasant that seemed to him, it was something he knew that he had to do. It was only right.

This meant that today he would be traveling to the Ministry with the Headmaster. Just the thought of it left him in an uncharacteristically nervous state of mind. He would have to reign in and hide his emotions. Just as he had to for the past several years. While much had change, many things would stay the same, so many things. This time though, it would be much harder than it ever had been to hide his emotions. The pain was so great.

He straightened up and took a deep breath, he could do this. Taking his rosary out of the pouch at his waist he knelt down on the cold stone floor of his room. Prayer was the only thing getting him through all of this. Without it he would not have been able to even get out o bed, let alone function like a normal human being. Now he knew that he would need it more than anything to get him through this trial.

As soon as he began the prayer a sense of peace and calm washed over his entire being. A sense of purpose. Life was still difficult, and there would still be pain, but he would survive. Another day would come, eventually he would heal. However hard to believe that was. There was however one thing he was certain of and that was that he would never love anyone the way he loved Lily.

Once he had finished his prayer he had replaced his rosary in its pouch and grabbed his cloak from its place on the wall. He did not have much time. He would have to do his best to get to the Headmaster's office in a quick and timely fashion. Tardiness was something he utterly abhorred. Perhaps it was the fact that it was so severely punished in the ranks of the Death Eaters. At any rate being late to his own trial would not look good in the eyes of those passing judgement over him today.

Quickly he stepped out of the portrait hole and began making his way to the Headmaster's office. He desperately hoped that he did not encounter anyone along the way. Over the past few days he had been going out of his way to avoid everyone. Minerva especially.

He could not face her now. Not after what had happened. To think that the night before Lily's death he had attended a ball with her. He had kissed her of all things. His memories from that night had started coming back recently, even in a haze. It was not right, not decent the way he had acted towards her. Kissing Minerva was a huge mistake, he knew that it was. Yet he could not feel any regret over it, in fact the memory of it actually gave him some pleasure. Pleasure he should not have had, pleasure he did not deserve to have. Especially not now. When Lily had been hiding he had been out gallivanting at a ball.

There were so many reasons why this was wrong that he could list. He loved Lily, he had loved her since childhood. That was why he had never been able to truly involve himself with another woman. Why he had not been able to progress farther in his relationship with Cassandra. He had rarely ever kissed her, in the times they had kissed it had been nothing like the kiss he had shared with Minerva. Never before had he ever felt anything like that.

Minerva was pure and good. She had fought against the Dark Lord from the very beginning and had always stood up for those who could not stand for themselves. Severus was an ex-Death Eater, guilty of many things, with at least two innocent lives on his hands. She deserved far better. He could not even imagine what she must think of him, and what she must have thought of him taking liberties like that with her. He had not been himself at the time, normally he would never have done something so impetuous.

Then there was the matter of Cassandra. They had not spoken in weeks, the last he had heard from her she had sent him an owl in which she all but dissolved their relationship. He was not even certain what was left of that at this point. It had been rather unfair of him not to mention the oath to her. She should have been the first person he told. That would have been the logical thing to do, yet he had no desire to tell her at the time. Yet he had been an utter louse to her. Effectively he had cheated on her. Cassandra did not deserve that, Minerva did not deserve to be involved in something like that.

He had allowed that distraction to occupy his mind far too often. The day of Lily's death he was unable to get Minerva off of his mind. Perhaps if he had been more alert, more vigilant he would have been able to find out what was going. Perhaps he would have heard of what was to happen to the Potters. Maybe he could have found a way to put a stop to the plot and prevent her death. Instead he had been preoccupied with thoughts of Minerva.

Now that he was almost to the Headmaster's office he was certain that he had made it home clear. There was no way that she was anywhere near here. The gargoyle that guarded the office was not more than fifty yards away. Severus picked up his pace, just a few more steps. He was so focused on his destination that he did not realize someone else was coming from the other direction until he quite literally ran into her.

Books and parchment flew everywhere and both parties were knocked to the ground. Shaken from the incident Severus quickly collected himself and began picking up books and gathering papers all the while muttering apologies. How had he been so careless, now he had managed to mess something else up. This would never had happened if he had been able to stay in his rooms and keep to himself. There was no need to unleash his presence on the school and the unsuspecting members of the staff.

Once he had gathered everything together he finally looked to see who exactly it was he had so gracefully plowed down in his haste. It was Aurora Sinistra, the astronomy professor. She did look quite shaken up and out of sorts as she was still on the ground. There was a far off look in her eyes, but this was not altogether unusual as she often would stare off into space. After all she did teach astronomy. In all of the commotion an inkwell must have been broken. There were several dark black spots on her once pristine white robes.

"I am terribly sorry." Severus said setting down his pile of books and offering her a hand to help her up. "I did not see you coming.

"It is quite alright." Aurora replied gratefully taking his proffered hand. "I am often lost in thought myself."

"Please allow me to take care of the ink mess on your robes." Severus said taking out his want. With a flick of his wrist he cast a quick scourgify charm and all of the ink was gone.

" I did not know that you used nonverbal spells Severus." she said with admiration. "So effectively too. I do believe that i have never seen these robes quite so clean before."

"Oh, it was nothing." Severus said rubbing the back of his head, suddenly self-conscious. It was not common to practice nonverbal magic, but in his lot it was often the safest, most convenient form of magic to use.

"Well I am extremely grateful, and I should say, much indebted to you." Aurora said. "Please allow me to repay you in some way."

"That is not at all necessary." Severus replied picking up her stack of books and parchment. "It was my fault you ended up in this predicament to begin with. I should have been paying better attention."

"No, no that's alright. It was my fault." Aurora said. "Me and my clumsiness. Now there must be some way that I can repay your kindness."

"No repayment necessary." Severus said again holding up his hands.

"Then how about this, perhaps we could sit down and have a chat later. I would like to properly thank you for all of your help." Aurora said sweetly.

Severus was not quite sure what to say. "That would be nice." he replied finally. "If you will excuse me now I am running late to see the Headmaster."

"In that case I will not keep you any longer then." Aurora said. Then to Severus' surprise she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you again." she said before walking off.

Severus was left in shock. What exactly had just happened?His thoughts were then interrupted by the arrival of another witch. This time it was the one he had been trying so hard to avoid. Quickly he started to walk towards the Headmaster's office, maybe she would not stop to say anything to him. He was so close, nearly there. Alas it was too late though, she had managed to intercept him right before he could speak the password.

"Severus." she said brusquely. "I have not seen you in days. Is everything alright?"

Was he imagining things, or did she seem somewhat agitated? While she did seem to be concerned something was clearly bothering her.

"I've been rather busy Minerva, that is all." Severus said without quite meeting her eyes. "I am sure that everyone has been quite busy considering what has happened in our world."

"Well yes." Minerva replied. "However most of us have not spent this time avoiding all contact with our fellow human beings. I thought you would have spent more time joining the rest of us in the celebrations."

"I …. Like to keep a low profile." he replied looking away.

"You do not have to do that anymore." Minerva said in earnest. "You are free now. You have your whole life ahead of you and you can be free to live it as you choose."

She walked over to him and clasped his hands in hers. She was warm to the touch. His heart jumped a bit at the sudden contact. At the same time he felt a very strong surge of guilt wash over him. The way he had acted was shameful.

"Unfortunately I am not free now." Severus said, conscious of the fact that Minerva was still grasping his hands. "According to the Ministry of Magic I am still a wanted man."

"I did not know that." Minerva said softly. "They cannot know what they are talking about. You are not that sort of person."

"They have very right to believe what they do about me. After all several Death Eaters have testified that I was a member of their ranks."

"That is utterly ridiculous." Minerva said fuming. "There must be something that you can do about this."

"Actually I was on my way to meet with the Headmaster now." Severus said, gently removing his hands from Minerva's grasp. "I am running a bit late."

"I'll go with you." Minerva said. "I was summoned to his office just a few minutes ago."

With that the two of them made their way to the Headmaster's office. The silence on the short walk was deafening. Severus made sure to keep his distance. Inside the stairwell the the Headmaster's office this became more difficult. It was rather a cramped space to begin with. One not meant to have more than one person at a time in it. Minerva's scent was almost overpowering in such a confined space, it was all he could do to resist her as they waited for the Headmaster to allow them to enter his office.

"Welcome Severus, Minerva." The Headmaster said gravely as they walked into his office. "I am pleased that you have made it."

"Thank you Headmaster." Severus said keeping his head down. The last time he had been here had been the day the Headmaster informed him of Lily's demise. What a dreadful day that had been.

"I trust that you are prepared for today Severus?" The Headmaster asked.

"As prepared as one can be Headmaster."

"I am glad to hear it. I trust that you know the procedures?" The Headmaster said. "You will not be granted the most pleasant treatment today. My influence can only extend so far in these matters."

"Yes." Severus replied with a curt nod. "You have been most generous with me as it is."

"Excuse me for intruding Albus, but for what is Severus preparing?" Minerva asked

"I am terribly sorry that I did not explain sooner." Albus said. "This is a matter of utmost confidentiality you understand, it was imperative that you not know the details until now.

"I understand implicitly Albus, you can trust me." Minerva said.

"I am glad that I can rely on you Minerva." The Headmaster said with a brief smile. "We will be traveling to the Ministry of Magic today for Severus to stand trial before the Wizengamot for his past affiliations. I am asking that you come with us to stand as character witness for him. That is should you agree to do so."

"Of course." Minerva answered immediately. "I am more than happy to do that."

Severus was surprised that Minerva would be joining them today. Of course he was grateful to have another person speak on his behalf, that was certain. Yet the thought of her bearing witness to his trial was not a pleasant one. If things had gone his way he would have preferred that she be kept out of the whole matter entirely.

What did it matter now though? He might very well be staring down life in Azkaban right now. By this evening everyone would know. He was not a fool. he Daily Prophet would be all over this trial at their first opportunity. How could they possibly turn down the story of a Hogwarts professor standing trial for crimes against the wizarding world? It would be a veritable field day for them.

"Thank you Minerva." Severus finally said. "I appreciate your willingness to do this for me. "

"It is not a problem at all Severus." she replied. "I am happy to be of assistance, especially in such a worthy cause."

"Good." Albus said. "Now we must be on our way. Timelines and punctuality are extremely important at the Ministry. At least for this sort of situation. Now if each of you could grab my arms we will side-along apparate. No, on second thought we will use the Floo-network. It is best that we not draw too much attention to ourselves. Ladies first Minerva."

 

A few minutes later they had arrived at the Ministry. Witches and Wizards were milling about, running back and forth busily going about their daily activities. Nobody seemed to pay too much notice to their arrival. People were constantly coming and going here. For this Severus was quite relieved.

He followed Albus and Minerva down the halls and down several flights of stairs until they reached a floor that had to have been several stories below ground. Following a veritable maze of corridors they finally reached a door. Professor Dumbledore abruptly stopped and rapped on the door three times. Almost immediately the door opened and they were ushered inside of a small room that was brightly illuminated.

Nearly as quickly as they had found their way in Severus found that someone was already binding his wrists and removing his wand from his sleeve. This was the sort of treatment he had been expecting. This was protocol and he knew it, however knowing about this did not do anything to lessen the complete and utter feelings of helplessness he had without his wand. This treatment was degrading to say the least. Wandless and bound he felt completely vulnerable. He was exposed to myriad threats. There were stories of accused witches and wizards being killed by spectators on their way to trial. Now more than ever did he have to place his trust in the Headmaster.

"What on earth is going on?" Minerva asked aghast. "What are you doing to him?"

"This man is on trial for crimes against our people. He is a criminal." The wizard in the room replied. "We need to make ensure the safety of everyone involved in these proceedings. He is an imminent threat."

"Are you mad?" she asked cooly. "You are completely disarming him, and binding his hands. Do you not care about his safety? What about his rights?"

"As far as we are concerned this man is a threat to everyone in this building. He has no rights. The crimes that he committed against our people made certain of that." The wizard replied gruffly tightening the bonds that held Severus' wrists even more.

"Albus, you know that Severus is not a threat. You have always told me that a person is innocent until they are proven guilty. Surely you can do something about this? The treatment he is receiving is unjust and barbaric." Minerva pleaded with the Headmaster.

Severus turned his head to look away. Minerva should not be fighting this battle for him. He knew what he was accused of and why the Ministry was doing what they did. If anything he should be fighting it, but what good would that do any of them?

"I am afraid, Minerva, that my hands are tied." The Headmaster replied. "This is Ministry protocol and there is nothing that we can say or do about it. The best thing that we can do for Severus is to cooperate right now. As trying as you might find these circumstances to be."

Minerva tried to interject again, but Albus silenced her with a look. Severus was glad that she was so eager to help him, but at the same time we wished that she would not have to bear witness to this treatment. Right now he was completely defenseless for all intents and purposes. If he was found guilty his wand would be snapped and he would be completely out of luck.

"Come with me please Snape." The Ministry official said gruffly, yanking on his bound arms.

"At least show him the respect he is due with his position" Minerva said frustratedly. "It is Professor Snape."

The official only grunted in reply as he proceeded to drag Severus through a door at the other side of the room. They followed several more winding corridors in the subterranean darkness. Even in comparison to the dungeons at Hogwarts these passages were cold and gloomy. They were lit by torches at irregular intervals down the halls, casting eerie shadows as they past. This part of the building was certainly older than the Ministry itself. It was specifically designed so that any prisoner who might have somehow managed to escape their captor would not be able to find their way out. The enchantments were so strong they almost hummed in the silence.

Finally he was thrust through a door and into an open gallery. The light while not terribly bright was almost blinding after the corridors he had been traveling through previously. A great many people sat in the chamber looking down at them. Many of them had looks of contempt clearly plastered to their faces. For this he could not blame them. Death Eaters were horrible people who had done horrible things. He had been one of those people. The indelible mark on his arm served as proof of his past sins.

The Ministry officials who had led him in was now joined by two others. Each one had their wands out and aimed straight towards him. They led him towards a chair and forced him into a sitting position. The moment he sat down he was magically bound to the chair. He could not move his arms or legs and the bindings burned searing hot. Evidently they were trying to make him feel as welcome as possible.

Once the Ministry officials were assured of his inability to move they backed away into their respective corners of he room. The three of them remained on guard, wands poised at the ready. This entire situation was humiliating, although he did not doubt that he deserved this treatment. Hopefully though, it would soon be over and he would be free to live his life again.

He did not have long to wait before the trial began. In just a few minutes Barty Crouch Sr. brought the room to order. If everybody had not already been staring at him they were most certainly doing so now. Faces of people he knew and people he knew of looked down at him from the seats above. Some of these people had been at Hogwarts with him. It was the best he could do to try and maintain his firm resolve and maintain eye contact. He could not afford to show signs of weakness.

"The trial of Severus Snape will now begin." Crouch said with a hammer of his gavel. "We will be trying Mr. Severus Snape, potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the the charge of being a Death Eater, and of assisting in the cause of He Who Must Not Be Named."

The entire rowing silent at this. It was still a very recent and painful memory for everyone involved. Severus could not blame anyone for the fears they still held in their hears.

"Mr. Snape." Barty Crouch began addressing him. "Are you, or are you not a follower of the Dark Lord, a so called "Death Eater.""

" I am not a Death Eater." Severus replied calmly.

"Are you denying these charges then?" Crouch asked his voiced raised. "Are you saying that if we were to look at your left forearm that we would not find the Dark Mark ingrained there?"

Two of the wizards standing guard prepared to come forward. Severus did not wish to be grabbed by either of them. As if sensing his thoughts the bindings holding him to the chair tightened and his skin burned.

"I do not deny that." Severus said. "If you would like I would show you the mark myself."

There was a collective gasp from the crowd. "What is the meaning of this? You deny being a Death Eater, yet you posses the mark and are willing to show it to us? I do not know what it is that you think you are going to do, but I can assure you that you cannot get away with anything here. Please explain yourself."

"Formerly, I was a member of this organization." Severus said clearly. "I no longer consider myself to be one of them, and I have not for quite some time."

Several people in the audience began to murmur to one another. Someone loudly called him a liar and a traitor. There were a few moments of this before Crouch called them to order again.

"Mr. Snape, would you care to explain this to us? If you will forgive my saying so it is rather difficult to believe that someone would suddenly have a change of heart over a matter such as this." Crouch said. "Did you just wake up one day, and decide that you were suddenly changing sides, or did you realize that there might be impending complications depending on the outcome of this war and you wanted to make sure that you ended up on the right side of things?"

"The situation is rather more complex than you would make it out to be." Severus replied. "When I had first joined the organization I was not completely aware of the scope and the range of activities it covered. The longer I stayed a member the more I began to realize what it was, and who I was. I knew that I did not want to be a part of it any longer. There were several factors that influenced my decision to leave the organization. When I finally saw a chance for escape from their ranks I contacted Professor Dumbledore. There would be no other way out, and I was not interested in the alternative."

"This sort of argument does not stand up well in court." Crouch said. "It also seems highly improbable. What evidence can you offer us?"

In answer to this Professor Dumbledore and Minerva stood up and made their way to the floor. Minerva made eye contact on the way down and Severus suddenly felt some of his strength return. Her steely resolve and determination gave him a renewed energy. She smiled at him slightly and it was enough to brighten his mood just a little.

Once the Headmaster had made his way to the floor all of the attention in the room turned to him. Dumbledore was one of the most highly respected people in their world. "Over the course of the past year or so Severus has been working for me." The Headmaster said authoritatively. "At great personal risk he became a turncoat and served as a spy for our side. He was able to provide information that was invaluable to our cause. On a daily basis he put his life at risk to help ensure the safety and future of our world. I will vouch for this man."

"That is a very weighty claim indeed." Crouch said. "You are saying that this man turned a spy for our side?"

"That is exactly what I am saying." The Headmaster replied sternly. "He has done more to aid in this war effort than many people working for the Ministry have."

"Professor McGonagall. Would you be willing to speak on behalf of this man?"

"Of course." she said. "This is a man who has risked so much for all of us so that we could live without fear and terror. We have worked together on missions and he has saved me from grave danger on at least two occasions. As a colleague he is an excellent addition to our staff and he has made several improvements."

"If we are to let this man go, what could he offer to society. What would he do, where would he go?" Crouch asked.

"He would continue to work for me of course." The Headmaster said matter of factly.

"There is no more use for spies anymore Dumbledore." Crouch said warily.

"As a member of my staff at Hogwarts." The Headmaster replied.

"Surely you do not mean that he would continue to teach at your school." Crouch said incredulously.

"I would not expect anything less." he replied. "I see no reason that I should lose an excellent potions instructor."

"Severus truly is a very valued member of our staff at Hogwarts." Minerva interjected. "Ever sine he has been at the school he has developed a reputation as an excellent teacher. Already our students are showing great progress in their potion making skills. We are quite fortunate to have such a gifted instructor."

To say the least Severus was shocked at this admission. He had never considered that his teaching was of much value at the school. To him it had always seemed that his primary job and purpose there was to spy for the Headmaster. Even he had made it clear that Severus' position as a professor came second to his other responsibilities.

"Is this true Professor Dumbledore?" One of the Ministry officials asked. "Has this man really contributed to the school?"

Professor Dumbledore did not hesitate to answer. "Absolutely. Since Professor Snape has arrived our students have improved immensely. He holds them to an extremely high standard." he said quite seriously. "As I am sure you are all aware Professor Snape is extremely adept at potion making. In fact he is one of the youngest people on record to have tested for and achieved the rank of potions master. "

There were was quiet discussion amongst the crowd. Perhaps they believed that he could be of use somewhere. Maybe they could be convinced to allow him to live freely.

"Indeed we are aware of his certain gifts. We have also been informed that this was one trait that made him extremely valuable to He Who Must Not Be Named." Another official said. "You can excuse us for not finding this information in his favor. Can you give us any type of concrete proof that we should trust him and not send him to Azkaban?"

"His reasons for changing sides are more than adequate." Professor Dumbledore said strongly.

"May we hear these reason?" The official asked.

"I am sorry, but that information is between Severus and myself." he Headmaster said.

"If this is the case, why should we trust him?: Barty Crouch asked.

"I trust him with my life." Dumbledore said. "Further I have no reason to believe that he could ever be persuaded to rejoin the other side."

"That is certainly something. You are willing to stand for this man then?" Crouch asked curiously.

"Absolutely.: Dumbledore replied.

"What about you Professor McGonagall?" Crouch asked. "Would you stand behind this man"

"I would." Minerva answered almost instantaneously. "If Albus trusts him, I trust him. Further as a friend and colleague of his I can vouch for his character. Severus is a good man."

"Very well." Crouch said. "He will have to be questioned further today of course, but what you have said will be taken into account. You two are free to go now."

"Thank you, but we will stay for the duration of this hearing." The Headmaster said with finality. Nobody here was willing to go against Dumbledore.

Severus felt a sense of relief wash over him. He was not looking forward to the questioning, but it would be easier to handle with some familiar faces around. It would be terribly unpleasant, he knew this, but it would be more bearable. He took a deep breath, and before he knew it, the interrogation began.

 

 

By the time they had returned to Hogwarts it was rather late at night. The trial had gone on much longer than any of them had anticipated it would. The questioning was grueling and Severus still had marks on his wrists from where they had been bound. He hoped that he would never again be subjected to such an experience, but he knew that there were far worse things that could have befallen him.

"Headmaster, Minerva." Severus said once they had reached the entrance hall. "I do not know how to thank you for all that you did today."

"It was no trouble at all Severus." The Headmaster replied solemnly. "You are a member of my staff and I will do all that I can to make sure that you are in good hands. Officially, now more than ever before, you are one of us."

"I am so happy to have been able to help you Severus." Minerva replied emphatically. "I am even happier that you will be continuing on here as a professor."

"I do not really know what to say." Severus said. "I am grateful to have the opportunity to work here. I am only sorry about the publicity this trial will get, and what that will mean for the school."

"Oh, I do not think you will have to worry about that." The Headmaster said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Whatever do you mean?" Severus asked curiously. "I have seen so many of these trials in the papers. Everyone of them has been plastered on the front page of the Prophet. How could I hope to escape that same fate?"

"Let us just say that I can be a rather persuasive individual and leave it at that." Dumbledore said. "Good night, Severus, Minerva." With that he walked off in the direction of his office.

"Severus." Minerva began. "I am so thankful for the outcome of this trial. I cannot imagine teaching at this school without you. I value your friendship immensely."

"Thank you Minerva." Severus said. "You do not know just how much that means to me. I feel the same way."

"I would very much like to continue our chess games." Minerva said. "If you would like."

"It would be my pleasure, Minerva. I have missed that. However I do not think I am quite ready for that yet. I still need some time to myself for awhile. So that I might adjust and recover."

"Oh, I understand." Minerva said, disappointment evident in her eyes.

"It will not be too long, I promise you." he said. "I just have some thinking to do. As soon as I feel up to it again I will let you know."

She smiled up at him. "Is that a promise?"

"On my honor." he said.

"Good, I will hold you to it." she replied. "Goodnight Severus."

"Goodnight Minerva."

The two of them parted ways, she went upstairs and he went downstairs. As he stood outside of the entrance to his rooms it was for the first time as a free man.


	20. Professor Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an evening of chess with Albus, Minerva finds herself completely and utterly drunk.

Author's Note: Hello all! I am back and so happy to be writing once again! The past few months have been rather trying, but things are beginning to look up once again. This chapter is rather different than the others so far in this story, and admittedly far different than I had expected it to be myself. I do hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, obviously

"Checkmate " Minerva said triumphantly as the king dropped his sword. She had won her first chess game in ages against Albus and she was feeling rather excited. The two of them had been playing for the past several hours and of the many games they had played this was the first she had won. While Albus was quite a decent chess player Minerva usually bested him. Therefore such a long losing streak on her part was quite out of the ordinary.

"Bravo on a game well played my dear." Albus said kindly from across the table. "I knew the tables would not be turned in my favor for too long. Although I must confess that it was rather nice to be on the other end of things for a change."

"I am sure that it was. Losers do not often get the opportunity to gloat. An opportunity which you took full advantage of when you began winning, I might add. Now I can take that honor" Minerva said with much more enthusiasm than either of them had expected. "Would you be up for another match?"

"Goodness it's rather late for another game. I do not recall a time that I played so many games of chess in one afternoon before." He said with a good natured smile. "Perhaps it is time for you to rest on your laurels my dear. You have earned it."

"Oh! I did not realize that it was so late Albus!" Minerva replied. "I should be going then!"

"Relax my dear, I had something else in mind." Albus said putting his hand over Minerva's. With a wave of his hand the chess set cleaned itself up and was replaced by a tablecloth and table settings. Two long candles appeared along with a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

"What is all of this?" Minerva asked stunned. Out of all of the things he could have done she had not expected this.

"These past few weeks have been rather stressful on us all. You have seemed particularly stressed with the extra workload you have taken on. I thought a quiet dinner might do you some good." He replied whilst pouring wine into the two glasses.

"To the best transfiguration professor this school could ever hope to have." Albus said, raising his glass, eyes twinkling madly.

Minerva raised her glass to meet his. She was blushing profusely now. "I do not know what to say." She replied bashfully. "Thank you just doesn't seem sufficient. Is there anything I can do to repay you, for all that you have done for me this year?"

"Smile more." Albus said gently. "Be happy, but most of all live. You have been a shell of yourself as of late. I miss the old Minerva. So full of life, so energetic. I know things have been rough but do allow yourself some happiness. This is all I ask of you."

Minerva nodded her assent. She did not want to explain to Albus exactly why her mood was so low lately. It had been weeks since the trial, yet Severus was still barely speaking to her. Out of respect for him she had kept her distance; when he was ready to talk again he would. Still though, the waiting was maddening to her. With every day that passed she missed him more, loathe as she was to admit it she had become quite dependent upon him and his company. In his short time here he had already become her closest friend and confidante amongst the staff.

Now she found herself increasingly turning to Albus, Filius, and Poppy. Not that there was anything wrong with them. She did enjoy their company very much indeed. It was just different from Severus. She felt that around him she could truly be herself and be comfortable. Perhaps though there was the stirring of something more? She brushed the thought from her mind nearly as soon as it came. What had happened a few weeks back was still quite perplexing to her. That moment, in the hedge maze, it probably should not have happened, it definitely should not have remained on her mind.

While Albus was beginning to understand the friendship she shared with Severus, he was not yet entirely accepting of it. To the contrary she felt that he was still somewhat wary of all the time she had spent with him. The irksome part of this behavior was that he seemed to trust Severus implicitly; he just did not trust him with her.

"I will do my best Albus. It is not difficult to find a reason to smile in such good company as yours." she replied allowing herself to break away from her thoughts.

"You do pay me the nicest of compliments my dear." Albus replied, smiling back at her. "Now please enjoy yourself this evening. Eat drink and be merry my dear.

As the evening wore on Minerva found that she was letting loose more than she had in awhile. For the first time in weeks she was allowing herself to truly breathe again. Perhaps it was the good company she was in, or perhaps it was the free flowing wine, whatever the case she felt her inhibitions beginning to fall away, and suddenly she was taking Albus quite literally at his word.

By the time they had finished with the food she was becoming rather tipsy. Somehow, without her realizing it they had polished off two bottles of wine and Albus was taking out a a bottle of Ogden's Old.

"Would you care for a glass Minerva?" he asked her as they sat in front of the fire.

As a true Scotswoman she could not resist. "Of course I would Albus. What do ye take me for?"

One glass eventually turned into two and so forth. Generally speaking, Minerva was not one to even entertain the idea of drunkenness. While she did drink on occasion she never went past one or two glasses of the stuff. She was one who liked to remain in full possession of her faculties at all times. Yet tonight, something seemed different to her. Perhaps it was all of the stress that had been building up since the war began.

A small voice in the back of her head told her that this was a bad idea and that she would regret it later on, but that voice was quickly overruled. Silenced by another voice that told her that she needed to continue what she was doing. Right now there was no place for the "rational" Minerva.

It was past 2:00 in the morning when she finally left the Headmaster's office. The effects of the alcohol were still quite potent. As she began to descend the staircase from his office she found that she was rather dizzy and it seemed to her that it would be wise to stop and remove her shoes. Heels were not rational footwear. Especially not when descending steep spiral staircases in the dead of night.

It took her longer to unfasten the buckles on her shoes than she had previously anticipated. It seemed that the holes were far too small on these things anyhow. She would have to stage a complaint to someone about this later on. Perhaps a well worded letter to Transfiguration Today. Yes, that would do it. Then someone would pay.

Retrieving her shoes from the step next to her she stood up and began to descend the stairs once again. The confounded thing had a habit of moving too much. She must report this to someone, who though? Oh yes, the caretaker, Flitch, no Filch, that was his name. Perhaps though it would be better to tell Mrs. Norris instead, she was really the boss around here. The one who took care of things. Everyone knew that.

When she had finally made it to the bottom of the stairs she took a moment to steady herself. Those stairs had really done a number on her. Although perhaps it was not just the stairs but the whole castle that was moving. Maybe there was something that she could do about it? Shaking her wand out of her sleeve in a manner that could hardly be considered graceful, she attempted to cast some sort of spell that would make the entire castle stop moving.

The castle had no right to be acting as it was. Someone had done something terribly wrong to it. She said a few incantations, and once she was satisfied with her work she attempted to return her wand to its place in her sleeve. For some reason this was harder than usual. Her wand had to go somewhere, but where to put it? Putting her hand to her temple she tried to think of what to do with it. Then it came to her. Why hadn't she thought of this before?

Her wand could go in her hair! Many muggle women wore chopsticks in their hair. A wand could not be that much different! With some difficulty she managed to stick her wand through her bun. There! Now she would be able to walk back to her rooms and she would know how to quickly get to her wand! Perhaps she would wear it in her hair all the time now.

Minerva proceeded to walk down the halls to her rooms. At least she thought her rooms were this way, however things were looking a bit different from normal. Those blasted staircases did have quite the tendency to move about on her. They must have been doing so again! Mrs. Norris would simply have to take care of this. The sooner the better. The further she walked the cooler the temperature around her became. There must have been an issue with the heating in the Castle. Mrs. Norris would have to see to that as well. She would be quite busy in the coming weeks.

Finally after what seemed like ages she happened upon another figure. Although on second though it might have been a ghost. Those black robes were rather billowy. This was a ghost she had not seen before, and it (he, she?) appeared to be rather solid. Being that it was a new ghost she found that it would only be appropriate that she introduce herself to it. After all, she was a Hogwarts Professor and as such she would have many dealings with said specter.

"Hello." she said in a voice as dignified as she could muster. "Professor Ghost, I am honored to make your acquaintance today. Allow me to introduce myself your ghostliness." With that she made a sweeping bow, losing her hat in the process.

The dark figure turned to her looking somewhat confused at what she had said. "Minerva? Is that you?" he asked sounding rather concerned.

"Ah! So you already know who I am, that being the case, I must also know who you are. Tell me oh happy spirit. What must I call thee?"

"Minerva? Are you quite alright?" the figure asked coming towards her. "It's Severus. Are you unwell?"

"Severus! What a name that is. I do know a Severus. Quite a lovely chap, one of kind he is. A true gem. We play chess together. Tell me, are you related to him?"

"Minerva? Is this a joke? It's me, Severus, I play chess with you." His voice was beginning to show a hint of concern. Poor spirit, they always were a melancholy sort.

"Severus? It's you?" Minerva asked suddenly stunned.

"Yes Minerva, it is really me." he replied somewhat relieved.

"You're a ghost." Minerva said in shock. "A spirit. Who did this to you? What happened? I will find whomever it was. Then they will pay"

"I'm not a ghost Minerva, I can assure you that I am perfectly well. I am just as alive as you are." Severus replied perplexed.

"You were so young too." Minerva said sniffling. "So full of life, so much promise ahead of you. Now it is all gone. I miss you so much. I never got to tell you" She threw her arms around Severus and began to cry.

Severus returned her hug and began patting her back to comfort her. It was not enough though. He was gone and she would only ever see him as a ghost again. How could she tell him?

"Minerva? Would you like a handkerchief?" Severus asked taking one from his pocket to give to her.

"That would be lovely." she replied, taking the handkerchief from him and wiping at her eyes. "You always were the perfect gentleman. So young, so very, very sad. You survived the war, and now this tragedy. Tell me, what was it that did you in? Where did you come from?"

"I was just returning from my walk about the grounds. I needed some fresh air." Severus said. The poor spirit was already exhibiting those subtle signs of confusion.

"My dear ghost, professor ghost, what was it that did you in on this walk?"

"Did me in? Minerva, I am not dead. I can assure you that I am just as alive as you are."

"Denial is so natural in ghosts. It was the Squid, wasn't it? Archibald was always an interesting one. I am sure that he did not mean it. He probably thought you were a large bat. Your black robes and all can be confusing. Especially when you walk about in such a manner, all the swooshing and the whooshing."

"Archibald? The Squid has a name?" Severus asked, momentarily taken aback.

"Of course he has a name." Minerva said indignantly. "Do you think he is some sort of uncivilized Squid? I ask you good man, what sort of a question is that?"

"Fair point Minerva, what on earth was I even thinking?" Severus said. "At any rate the squid, Archibald, if you prefer, did not do me in. As you can no doubt see…"

Minerva cut him off again. "Then it was no doubt George. Here I was thinking he was civilized, but there you go. Resorting to primal instincts. No gold star for him." she said matter of factly.

"I know that I am going to regret asking this, but who on earth is George?"

"Who doesn't know George?" Minerva asked surprised. "He is a vampire that lives in the forbidden forest. I have never known him to kill anyone to drink blood, let alone a professor. We are going to have to have a serious talk. No more fresh tomato juice for him. This has set him back five hundred years. Tis a pity his record has been broken."

"A vampire named George?" Severus asked. "Of all the things…."

"Yes, well it is an unfortunate situation. Nobody takes a vampire named George seriously. I suppose now they will have to take him seriously though. Now that this has happened everyone in the land will quake in fear whenever they hear the name George the Vampire. You know, you are looking rather pale. At first I put it down to the ghostliness, now however I can see that it has to do with the lack of blood." Minerva said. All of this grief was beginning to make her sleepy.

"Of course, of course." Severus replied. "I think someone has been drinking tonight, and that someone may have had too much to drink."

"Who?" Minerva asked conspiratorially. Drunkenness was something she could not abide by. "Was it a student? One of the professors?"

"Minerva. Where did you come from tonight? Who were you drinking with?"

"The Headmaster's office. Albus and I were playing chess. Is he the one who is drunk?" Minerva asked wide eyed. "Shame on him, what on earth was he thinking?"

"What on earth indeed." Severus said. "I think it is time that we get you to bed."

Bed did sound like rather a good idea. Her eyelids were beginning to fall and her limbs were feeling heavy. Suddenly she felt herself drifting away….

Minerva awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. She could not remember the last time she had felt quite this way. It felt as though someone were pounding at her skull with an axe. Her only though was that this is how Zeus must have felt in the myths before Athena emerged from his head. Somehow she doubted that there was a fully grown goddess lodged in her head. There must be some logical explanation for all of this.

Opening her eyes she began to take in her surroundings. It took a few moments for things to come into focus. She was in a bed, but with a start she realized it was not her own. She did not own blue flannel sheets or a gray comforter for that matter. The pajamas she was wearing certainly did not belong to her. They were much too large.

Drawing back the curtains from the four poster she came face to face with a room that was also unfamiliar. It was comfortable, yet simplistic in nature. On a chair across from the bed her clothes from the previous night were neatly folded, her hat on top. Next to the bed there was a night table, on which rested her wand and glasses. There were also two vials filled with a purple colored liquid.

Sitting up to investigate she found that the vials were sitting on top of a letter written in slanting script. Picking it up she began to read it over. This took more time than anticipated due to her pounding headache. Just making the words stay on the page was difficult. It was a short enough letter. The contents explained where she was, why she was there, and the directions for use of the potions on the bedside table.

She was grateful for the explanation, and for the help, truly she was, but at this very moment she could die of embarrassment. While he had explained her obvious drunkenness in very delicate terms the very fact that he had even witnessed her in such a state, let alone had to take care of her was painful. What he must think of her now, what impression she must have given him. How on earth would she ever be able to face him again?


	21. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Minerva's drunken evening.

Severus woke up to find himself in a rather cramped position. Rather than sleeping in his own bed he was on the couch in his living room; he had not even changed out of his teaching robes from the previous day. It was a wonder he had even been able to get to sleep at all.

Sitting up he looked at his watch to see the time. It was 8:00am. Later than he would normally wake up, even on a Saturday. His neck had a bit of a crick in it, however he found that he was not much the worse for wear. Sleeping on the couch was hardly something he could complain about. During the war he had often had to sleep on the ground, or in hastily made shelters. Comparatively a couch could be a luxury.

It took him a moment to realize why exactly he had been sleeping on the couch. Minerva was in his bed right now. That statement still felt weird to him, even just thinking about it. Never in a million years could he have imagined that happening. With the state she was in the previous evening he knew that he would not be able to take her back to her own rooms. It would have been difficult to get her there at best, and the questions if anyone saw her in that state would have made things difficult for her today.

Overall this had been the best option. Standing up he began the process of making breakfast. It would be easier for both of them to eat here today rather than go to the Great Hall. French Toast seemed to be a good option. He was craving something sweet today. He hoped that Minerva would enjoy the food as well, although something told him that she might not have much of an appetite this morning.

Never had he ever expected to see her in such an inebriated state. It just was not like her personality, at least not what he knew of her. The Minerva he knew was just too level headed for such a thing. Too sensible, too smart. He could not help but wonder if there was something that made her lose her inhibitions. More than anything he was quite frustrated at the Headmaster. That man should have known better than to have allowed her to become so inebriated! At the very least he should have walked her back to her rooms, or sent her house elf to come and get her!

While Hogwarts Castle was relatively safe he could not bear the thought of what may have happened to her if he had not been out when he was. She could have fallen down the stairs, or even wandered outside of the castle. They were well into November and the weather was already quite chilly. She could have frozen, or fallen into the lake! Not to mention what may have happened if other members of the staff, or heaven forbid, students had seen her in this state. She would have lost some of the authority that she held, at least in their eyes.

The state she was in last night! Thinking he was a ghost, and had been killed. While admittedly some of that had been rather entertaining, it was difficult for him to see her in such a vulnerable state. She was the upright and formidable professor, even in this, her first year as a full professor here, she already had a strong reputation.

It had been difficult getting her back to his rooms after she had all but passed out on him. He had caught her just before she hit the floor. Using some smelling salts he had in his robes he was able to rouse her enough so that she could walk part of the way. Professor Edgars had presented another obstacle for him. Convincing that portrait that his intentions were pure was another matter entirely.

He knew how it must have looked to the old gentleman when he had half carried an intoxicated woman to his room. It was easy to see where his trepidation could have come from. Needless to say the portrait was not at all willing to buy into his explanations of the predicament. Severus had had to bargain and allow Professor Edgars into the rooms to keep abreast of their every move. If anyone had trust issues at Hogwarts it was that man. Woe to those poor students who had to endure him as their head of house and potions instructor.

Suddenly he heard a groan from the bedroom. Minerva must have woken up. He could only imagine the type of headache she must have been dealing with right now. Hopefully those potions he had left for her would take some of the edge off of the pain. Help her to regain her senses at the very least. Perhaps he should go and explain the use of the potions to her, on second thought that probably would not be a good idea. The last thing Minerva probably wanted right now was for someone to have to explain this to her as if she was a complete imbecile.

It also occurred to him that it probably would not do for him to be walking into his bedroom with right now. Invading her privacy was not something he wanted to do. The whole situation would already be awkward enough if he did not walk into her changing clothes today. The thought had crossed his mind hat perhaps he should leave before she woke up, however he had thought better of it. While surely she might be feeling a little embarrassed it would be easier to get the awkwardness out of the way sooner rather than later. Much better if she was not avoiding him for the rest of the year.

About a quarter of an hour later Minerva emerged from his rooms fully dressed. It appeared that she had transfigured the robes from the previous night into something else. This time she had chosen to don something a little bit more colorful; her hat and dress were both emerald green. Evidently she had also taken the potions laid out for her as there was again color in her cheeks and she did not appear to be suffering too greatly from a headache.

After taking in her surroundings Minerva seemed to realize that he was in the room. Quickly she began to head towards the door. "I'm dreadfully sorry for the trouble I've caused you." she said with her head down. "I was reckless last night and that was utterly inexcusable. Thank you for your kindness."

"Minerva, please do not leave. I've made breakfast, I hope you like French Toast." he said walking towards her. "Please."

"I probably should go. I do not want to cause you any more trouble."

"Please stay, I insist. It will give us a chance to catch up. We haven't spoken in nearly a month now." He replied earnestly. "Besides, the table is already set for two."

"Alright." Minerva said giving in after a few more moments. "I will stay, so long as I am not imposing too much."

"No imposition at would never be imposing on me. Please have a seat." he said pulling out a chair for her.

Minerva took her seat almost a little reluctantly. Once she had been comfortably seated he brought the food over to the table and joined her. There was a palpable tension in the air. The two of them had been in some rather odd situations that year, but this had to have been the strangest of them. Had he been in her position right now, he did not know how he would have dealt with it all.

"So…." Severus began. "Perhaps we should address the elephant in the room."

"I am so, so, sorry about last night." Minerva blurted out. She still had yet to eat any of her food. She just kept pushing it around on her plate. "I know it was wrong, a horrible thing for me to do. I just have to say I have no idea what got into me. If you never wanted to speak with me or see me again, I would completely understand."

"Minerva, dear Minerva. I think perhaps that you are being too apologetic." Severus said placing his hand over hers. "There are times that we have all done something that we regret. I hope that you do not think that I would hold last night against you. Of course I want to continue speaking with you, and spending time with you. Truth be told I have greatly missed your company these past few weeks and was hoping that perhaps we could spend some time together today."

Minerva looked up at him in surprise. "You mean that you do not hold the events of last night against me?" she asked incredulously.

"Merlin's beard Minerva, I am a former Death Eater and you are concerned about an evening of intoxication?" He said with a laugh.

"Perhaps you are right." she said with a smile. "It is just that I am not used to being in such a situation as last night. As I said before drunkenness is not in my nature. While it is true that I occasionally indulge in a drink I can assure you that it is always in a responsible manner."

"I do not doubt you at all Minerva. Knowing your character, nobody could doubt you in this matter." He said very seriously.

"If I might ask, what exactly happened last night?" Minerva asked, her voice suddenly anxious. "Nothing too damaging I hope."

"From my experiences with inebriated individuals I can assure you that you were by no means damaging. Amusing perhaps, but that is the extent of it all." Severus said.

"How did I end up down here? I vaguely remember seeing a ghost or something of the sort last night, and then Mitzi."

Severus choked slightly on his french toast. "It would seem that the ghost you saw last night was me. Apparently you had come from dinner in the headmaster's office and got a bit turned around when searching for your own rooms. You saw me from a distance in the hallways and assumed that I was a ghost."

Minerva turned bright red and began to sink down in her chair a bit. "A ghost?" she asked. "Oh my word, how bad was it?"

"Not to worry Minerva, perhaps my coloring was a bit off. Many people have told me that my complexion is rather pale at times."

"Was there anything else?"

"You did mention something about Archibald the Squid, and George the Vampire." he said. "By the way, is the squid really named Archibald, and is there really a vampire named George living in the forbidden forest."

Minerva colored a bit more. "Yes and no for the squid. The majority of the people here refer to him simply as the Giant Squid, but according to Hogwarts a History his name is Archibald. As for George, yes he does exist, and yes he does live in the forest. We do meet up on occasion. Rest assured he is quite harmless, and actually rather an interesting conversationalist. Especially considering that he has been around for over five hundred years. One can learn a lot of information about the goings on of Hogsmeade and the school from him. "

"Really?" Severus asked truly intrigued. "Consider my interest piqued. Perhaps when you are feeling up to it you can explain the circumstances of your meeting to me?"

"Perhaps an actual introduction could be arranged." Minerva replied finally regaining some of her composure. "I believe that the two of you would get on quite well. You both seem to have that solitary air about you."

"Oh, so you do not believe that it could have anything to do with my bat-like nature?" Severus asked with a gentle smirk. "None of the whooshing and the swooshing?"

"Good grief, do not tell me hat was part of my act last night too." Minerva said with a laugh.

Severus flapped his arms up and down in demonstration. "When you mention it my robes are somewhat like wings." By this point Minerva's laughter was contagious and Severus could not help but join in. It was the first time in a very long time that he had allowed himself to laugh truly and fully. So long that even he was shocked by the sound of it.

Minerva also seemed to be momentarily surprised. Her shock only seemed to last for a short time though, because before he knew it the two of them were laughing all over again. It was as if a large weight had been lifted from both of their chests and they could be happy again. Heaven knew that they needed this right now.

After a few minutes the laughter had finally subsided. "Minerva, allow me to express my gratitude for your being here this morning. I have truly missed you over these past few weeks." Severus said gratefully.

"I am glad that I stayed." Minerva said. "However there is still one thing that puzzles me."

"What is that Minerva?" Severus asked. "I will do my best to fill you in."

"It is just, how did I end up here in your rooms, in your bed?" Minerva asked. If she had been red before, now she was bright crimson.

"Oh, well." Severus said turning a bit red himself perhaps and maybe just a bit flustered. "That is quite simple. You see we were in the dungeons anyway, and you were not in the most lucid state at the time. I was rather concerned that perhaps if we were to return to your rooms we might encounter some students or other staff members."

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness." Minerva replied. "I am also quite certain that Professor Edgars must have been quite pleased at the prospect of your bringing me here last night."

"Indeed, he was positively thrilled." Severus said rolling his eyes. "So much so that suffice it to say he insisted on spending the entire night in here watching my every move. Like a hawk"

"Well that must have been comfortable…." Minerva said. "Where is he now by the way?"

"I believe he has resumed his usual post outside of my door. There is only so much time one can spend watching another person sleep. Even he must have his limits."

Minerva stayed for a little while longer before she had to return to her offices to get some grading finished. Before she left though, the two of them made plans to meet up at the Three Broomsticks on Tuesday. Once she had left though Severus had decided that he needed to pay a visit to the Headmaster to see what exactly had happened the previous night.

He took the walk to the Headmaster's office at a brisk pace. He was not far from the entrance to the Headmaster's office when he saw the most peculiar sight. A few of the gargoyles seemed to have donned Gryffindor colored hats and scarves. Upon closer inspection they no longer appeared to be gargoyles at all, but rather tabby cats. What on earth had happened here? He could not help but think that maybe, Minerva in her drunken state… No, he must have just been seeing things.

Against his better judgement he made the decision to ignore the sight before him and see the Headmaster instead. Hopefully he would get answers. He only had to keep his temper in check at this point; because right now he was not at all pleased with the Headmaster.


End file.
